Benders
by Mike1993
Summary: After a friend being attacked and nearly killed, a fire bender discovers a plot to kill all benders in the world. Modern-Day Fanfic
1. Chapter 1

"Hmm, that would've been quite a fall." the detective claimed, looking over the side of the rail. His hands were careful not to touch the blood.

"Yeah, I guess this kid was lucky that he wasn't thrown over." the other detective said. "Why do you think, whoever did this, didn't finish the job?"

"Don't know. Maybe not killing him was part of the job."

"They sure beat they hell out of him. Didn't the meds say he was in a comatose state when they left?"

"I'm no doctor but I'll say he'd probably be suffering from head trauma, internal bleeding and some other shit." He left the rail and headed over to his partner.

"God, what the hell happened here?"

"At 8:37 P.M., a call was made by a neighbor that they could here a lot of noise coming from the victims apartment. Crashing objects, thuds on the wall, they got scared. By the time we arrived they were out of the apartment. A blood trail from the room lead us straight to the roof. That's where the victim was found, leaning right against the rail."

The other nodded his head, "I heard he had a bag with him that had a bunch of clothes and stuff."

"Guess the kid knew what was coming to him. Tried to leave but was beaten to the punch. Literally."

"And that a 'sword' was found only a few inches away from him?"

"Feds dusted it and found the kids prints all over it."

"So what, he had a showdown with whoever was trying to kill him?"

"I don't know, but since the kid is still alive, when they sure as hell could've killed him, I think this is only the beginning to a chain of homicides coming our way. So you better get your umbrella because the shit clouds are coming in." He started to walk to the stairs.

"By the way, what was the kids name?"

"Daniel Marcus his license said. But they checked it out and couldn't pull anything up on him. So it's most likely a fake."

"This just gets weirder and weirder." He followed his partner down the steps.

……

The detectives walked out of the apartment complex.

"You know, the world is crazy enough as it is already. What with all these damn benders and everything."

"Benders sir?"

"You know, the people with the powers."

"I know who they are but why are you concerned with them?"

"Are you kidding? Please tell me that you were aware of the war a year ago."

"You know, that wasn't a war officially. Besides, weren't benders the ones that ended it?"

"And benders were the ones that began it, also. Remember that. It's only a matter of time before some of them try to do something like it again."

"What about that Avatar person. Didn't he stop the others last time? He could do it again."

"That all-powered bald-headed freak with the tattoos? I wouldn't trust him for anything. What if he decided to try to take over the world. Then we all would be screwed."

"I don't know, it doesn't seem likely. Besides, the last people who went crazy that time were captured and imprisoned weren't they?"

"All but one. Zuko. That little creep is out there somewhere. Probably plotting on how to get even with the world for doing what we did to his father and sister. Mental illness is genetic, and if most of his family had it, he is bound to have it, too."

"Okay. Zuko I'll say is a problem. But isn't the government being trained to hunt down benders like him? So it would only be a matter of time till he's captured, right?"

The detective stopped, taking out his car keys and unlocking the doors. "I don't know. There hasn't been sight of him since the end of the war. He's eluded the government for this long and I'm not even sure if-" he stopped.

"What?"

"Did it just get warmer all of the sudden?"

"What do you mean?"

The suspicious detective looked around, only seeing the usual everyday street walkers. But he caught a glimpse of a hooded figure, back against the wall looking to the ground. The detective didn't think it was all to suspicious, but he couldn't help but feel a strange vibe coming from the person. It sent not shivers, but a creepy heat down his spine.

"Sir, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Let's go." He got into his car, followed by his protégé. The car started up, and they began to drive away. The detective saw from his rear view mirror that the hooded figure was now in the open, watching him drive away. Once again, it creeped him out.

-----

Back at the apartment complex. A hooded figure stands outside the building doors, surveying the area. He walks inside. He notices all the police in the lobby, some asking questions to the doorman.

"I swear no one came in to visit anyone between eight 'o clock and nine 'o clock." He heard the doorman say.

The figure had a few questions himself to ask to the doorman. But with all these cops around, it wouldn't be easy. He'd have to do it some other time. He left the lobby to the front of the building.

The hooded figures eye scaled the building, looking up to see which room belonged to who. Analyzing from way down here, it was hard to tell. He'd have to get closer. Suddenly, his legs ignited with flame and then he launched into the air like a rocket. He quickly looked for the room he was looking for and shot his legs to where he would launch towards it. He landed safely on the balcony, and slid the glass door open to walk into the apartment.

The entire place was wrecked. The TV was broken through, pictures had fallen off the wall, the couch had been slashed. He noticed a small little mirror hanging on the wall, just barely and crooked slightly. He walked over to it and just stared at his reflection. Slowly he started to take off his hood. Still looking at himself in the mirror. The hood was all the way off, and he brought his hand to his face, touching the burn scar that still remained.

"_August 17, 2009, 10:44 P.M._

_My name is Zuko. I'm making this audio log to record the events that follow from this day. When I realized that benders all over the world were in great danger. I first came to discover this when I went to investigate the home of resident Daniel Marcus exactly an hour ago. I refuse to present his real name for his own protection. First discovery I made was when I searched the bathroom…"_

Zuko walked into the bathroom. He carefully surveyed the place and found nothing out of the ordinary. Looked like it hadn't even been touched in the brawl. He looked in the shower, lifted the back lid to the toilet, looked behind the mirror. He only noticed that the toothbrush was gone. But that wasn't out of the ordinary. Zuko checked under the sink to see if anything was there. He felt something. Zuko got down to his knee and looked under. A bomb had been placed there.

"_At first I thought that the bomb had been placed there by the people who tried to kill him. But then I discovered something…" _

Zuko walked out of the bathroom. He looked to the floor, scratching the back of his head. The he noticed something lying slightly underneath the TV stand. He knelt down and picked it up.

"_A detonator. Why would the assassins leave the detonator in the apartment? Then I came to the possible fact that Daniel set up the bomb in hopes of sending the assassins sky high when they came to search for him. He was obviously expecting them. It would've worked. But he just wasn't fast enough."_

Zuko walked into the bedroom. He noticed the computer was still on.

"_That's when I made my second discovery…"_

The computer was logged onto the internet. Zuko took a look at some of the recent searches.

"_Daniel had been keeping up with the news. He had been searching many news articles from many newspapers around the world. All talked about deaths and massacres, with pictures of some of the victims. Why was he searching this stuff?"_

Zuko was confused. He looked on the desk to see if anything was there of interest. He found a manila folder in the drawer, practically stuffed with papers. Zuko opened it up.

"_After a while of observing, I couldn't believe what it said. All those people from those articles Daniel was reading, the ones that were killed in those countries… they were benders. And not just a specific kind. Any kind of bender was killed more than once."_

Zuko looked at the folder, eyes widened with astonishment. "What the hell?" He started turning some more pages.

"_I looked deeper into the folder, seeing just exactly how much benders were killed already. Then I ran into something. Something BIG. A folder marked classified, with a label under it marked Codename…"_

"Project Phoenix?" Zuko said aloud.

"_What does this mean? Did it have some relation to all these deaths?"_

Zuko looked at the bed behind him and saw a picture on the table next to it. He picked it up and looked at the two people in it. There he was, smiling. With his arm wrapped around his sister, Katara.

"Dammit Sokka. What did you know?"

"_I couldn't think. Everything just came to fast. I was confused. What the hell is Project Phoenix? What is it's connection with all these benders dying? I had to go see some people. Some old friends."_

The door to the room had been kicked open, and Zuko quickly broke free from his trance.

"Police!" they yelled, "Is someone in here?! Show yourself!" They searched the whole apartment. They found nobody. And the door to the balcony was closed.

-----

"What did we say about practicing your earth bending." her father was yelling.

"You're going to get us into some big trouble, young lady." the mother replied.

The little girl looked to the floor. "I know. I'm sorry. It's just- I get so bored. I have this amazing power and I can't use it. It sucks."

"Language Beulah." the mother exasperated.

"Please," the father signaled for one of the guards. "Take Beulah upstairs to her room. And make sure she doesn't get out."

"Can't you at least call me by my real name?" Beulah asked.

"Our government relocated us, gave us income and new names so that way we could live a normal life. Get use to the name sweetie because its staying."

"Come on." the guard said, grabbing her shoulder.

She smacked it away, "I may be blind, but I'm not helpless." With that she stormed up the stairs to her room and slammed the door. The girl was furious. Why did they treat her like this? Was she not one of the few who saved the world last time? She hated being treated like she was small and fragile. This was exactly why she left home last time. Why did she ever come back? She grabbed the nearest thing she could grab and threw it against the wall. She waited for the sound of impact. It didn't come.

"Good evening, Toph." That voice. She remembered it. "Or should I say Ms. Beulah Marianthol? Just to be safe."

"Zuko!" she yelled, running to him with open arms. They both hugged each other.

When they broke apart, Zuko said, "I believe this is your brush." He handed it back to her.

Toph blushed, remembering she just had thrown something. "What are doing here?"

Zuko kind of quieted down. "Sokka was almost killed."

Toph's expression went from ecstatic to shocked. "What?!"

"They found him on the roof of his apartment tower unconscious. Some people beat the hell out of him. From what I heard he's in a coma now."

"Oh my God." the expression on Toph's face was devastated. Zuko could tell. "Do the police know who did it?"

"No, please. Police are completely clueless these days. They didn't even find the bomb hidden under the bathroom sink-"

"A BOMB?!"

"I think Sokka placed it there. I think he knew they were coming for him."

"Who? Did you find out who they were yet?"

"No, not yet unfortunately. But I think it has something to do with what I found in his apartment."

"What did you find?"

"This." He laid a thick manila folder on her bed.

" 'This' is what again." she sarcastically said, waving her hand in front of her face.

"Right." Zuko felt stupid. "Sorry. In this folder, Sokka kept records of deaths all over the world. Deaths of benders." Zuko couldn't tell if Toph was paying attention or not, but he kept talking. "Also it had this file in here called Project Phoenix."

"Project Phoenix?" Toph responded. Yea, she was paying attention.

"Yeah. But when I tried to check it out the papers for it were gone. All that's left is a folder labeled Project Phoenix."

"Then how do you know that it has something to do with the attack on Sokka."

"Sokka has been looking into these deaths for a while, it seems. I don't know when he came over Project Phoenix, or if it even had something to do with what happened. But he was almost killed tonight for something. My guess is that he knew to much and someone wanted him silenced. So he couldn't tell anyone else."

Toph crossed her arms and sighed. "Why did you come over here Zuko?"

Zuko could hear the anxiety in her voice, "I just wanted to tell you to watch out. I know you're a strong earth bender but still. Don't go anywhere alone."

"Oh believe me when I say that my father has me locked down tight. I can't even go to the bathroom without someone watching over me."

"That's creepy."

"You're telling me?" They both laughed a bit. She seemed kind of down, though.

"Listen, the last thing I'd ever want to do was to purposely scare someone without a good reason. But with the incident with Sokka and this," he waved the folder in the air, "I just don't want to take any chances."

"Yeah, that's you alright. The one who cares." Toph teased. They both smiled and hugged each other.

"By the way, where are Aang and Katara?" Zuko asked.

"They settled down at Omashu Base. They have a nice home there."

"Omashu?"

"Yeah, why? Are you gonna go see them, too?"

"I have to. I got to show them what I found." He grabbed the folder and headed towards the window.

"For the past year, you've been running away from the government, and now you're just gonna walk up to their doorstep?"

Zuko thought on that for a while before answering, "Yeah, pretty much."

Toph laughed, "You're even crazier than I am."

"I'm only going to see Katara and Aang, I know they won't rat me out."

"Aang won't, Katara I'm not so sure of."

"Well, I'll take my chances." He stuck his feet out the window. Then looked back. "Take care Toph."

"Likewise Sparky. And if you find anything new out, I want to help." She gave him a thumbs up. Then he jumped out the window.

"_Now that I knew where they lived, I headed there. To bad they lived at Omashu. Sneaking in wouldn't be too easy."_

-----

Katara sat in her bedroom, thinking, worrying. Then a knock on her door brought her back to reality.

The door opened slightly, "Miss Katara, you have a visitor." the voice said. Katara quickly got up and head downstairs. She was surprised to see who was waiting for her.

"Suki!" she exclaimed, picking up her pace down the stairs.

"Katara!" Suki also exclaimed. She dropped her suitcase and greeted Katara with a hug. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. How about you?" she replied.

"I came down as soon as I heard."

"You got here really fast."

"Where's Aang?"

"Suki?" a voice came from upstairs. Aang air bended his way down to the ground floor.

"Hey Aang." Suki gave him a hug.

"I didn't know you were coming." he claimed.

"I left my home as soon as I heard what happened to Sokka. Is he alright?"

"We're not sure." Katara told her. "They said we shouldn't see him till tomorrow."

"Why tomorrow?"

"They said he's suffering from severe head trauma and internal bleeding. He's in a coma now. They said we should all give him so alone time to let the healing process begin." Aang explained.

"Well, where is he now?"

"In the base's hospital. Tomorrow we'll all go see him first thing in the morning." Suki sighed. She wanted to see Sokka as soon as she got there.

Katara grabbed Suki's shoulder, "I know you're worried. We are, too. Especially me. He's my brother." Katara began to cry a little. Suki brought her into another hug, crying also.

"Come on guys," Aang said, "Let's head to the kitchen. I'll make some tea. That'll help calm us down." The three of them all headed into the kitchen. The guard took Suki's bag upstairs.

…..

"So what have you been up to, Suki." Aang asked. They were all sitting at the table with their cups of tea.

"Not much. Just living day by day in this so-called new world."

"I heard you went to Australia a while ago." Katara claimed. "How are things going in the land down under?"

"Well, I went there to help out some earth benders. Locals over there were getting skeptical about having them around. I did what I could to help them settle with the town, but who knows what's happened now."

"Yeah. People are afraid of benders these days." Aang claimed.

"People have always been afraid of benders. Even before the war." Katara added.

"It's hard being the Avatar these days. You want to make peace with people but they don't want to make peace with you."

"Humanity has always been like that." Suki said. "We're afraid of change. We can't handle it. We think that everything different is bad. You would think even with the war that happened, people would start to see that there are higher forces at work besides us. The evolutionary chain goes on and benders are the ones next in line. We won't always be at the top of the food chain and the sooner we except that, the sooner we can move on with happiness. Yet, we're stubborn. We ignore what's going on around us and pretend that everything is the same. We're in control, when we really aren't."

Aang and Katara nodded in agreement with Suki's statement. "The war hasn't changed anything." Katara added.

"Last I heard it wasn't even officially a war." a voice came from the kitchen, startling them. They turned to see Zuko, standing by the entrance to the kitchen.

"Zuko!" Suki and Aang shouted in unison.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" he said smiling.

They both went to go greet him. But Katara stayed sitting, not the least bit excited about his presence. She could hear 'It's been so long' and 'It's great to see you again' and she could hear him say 'Thank you' and 'I missed you guys'.

"I didn't know you'd be here, Suki?"

"I came to see how Sokka was doing."

"So he is HERE. I thought they would bring him here after Toph told me where you and Katara were."

"You went to see Toph?" Aang asked.

"Yeah, I went to go talk to her about-" he was cut off.

"Oh, how is Toph?" Suki asked.

"Her parents seem to be too controlling. Which is driving her crazy she says." Aang replied. Then the rest of the conversation kept going back and forth like this until Katara noticed the manila folder under Zuko's arm.

"What's with the overstuffed folder?" she asked. Only then did the others notice he was actually carrying something.

"Thanks, Katara." He walked over to the table and placed it. "I went to Sokka's apartment a while ago to check it out myself."

"You were the one that broke in after the police left?!" Katara questioned.

"First of all, I didn't break in. The door to the balcony wasn't locked. And second, how'd you find out about that?"

"The cops are told to alert us if they find anything."

"Well, I didn't break in and I found a lot more out within the hour than the cops would've within the week."

"How'd you get up to the balcony?" Suki asked.

"I blasted myself up there with my fire bending." Zuko explained.

"How'd you learn to do that?" Aang asked.

"Um-"

"Guys?!" Katara shouted. "Zuko, what did you find out?"

"Well, when I went to check out his apartment, I found this folder. Look at it." The three of them opened the folder and skimmed through it. Taking out piles of papers and looking through them separately.

"Who are all these people? Aang asked.

"All those people in there are benders from different parts of the world. And they've been killed recently."

"Project Phoenix?" Katara said, holding the folder.

"Oh, you found that? Well, there's not much I can tell you about Project Phoenix. There's no papers in the folder to explain what it is or what it plans to do. But I'll tell you the same thing I told Toph. Whatever Project Phoenix is, someone is trying to keep it a secret. Sokka must have found knew what it was, and they went after him."

"The police did say that Sokka had a packed bag when they found him." Aang told.

"So Sokka was expecting them. He knew they were coming. He was leaving, probably trying to come tell you guys. But they got him."

Everyone was silent. No one knew how to handle this. "Well, if Sokka knew so much, how come they didn't just kill him."

"That, I don't know. Maybe the police showed up and they left before they got there."

"My God, what did Sokka know?" Suki questioned.

"You guys might not like it when I say this, but what I think is going on…" Zuko paused. The others stared at him, wondering what he was going to say. "I think there's a plot to kill all benders."

"Zuko, that's crazy." Aang insisted.

"Think about it. The world hates us. They think we're a bunch of freaks and that we're dangerous."

"Okay Zuko just stop." Katara commanded. "I appreciate your concern for my brothers attackers and you wanting to try and find them. But if you haven't noticed, we're all going through a crisis right now and we don't need any more drama." She stood up and tried to leave.

"Katara, I came hear to tell you guys that something is going on and that we need to stick together. Sokka knew something. Something huge. And since he's unable to tell us what, we're going to have to find out on our own."

Katara sighed, "Zuko, hear this. Since the war ended a year ago, we haven't seen you since. Not counting the times when we seen your picture in the paper and an article saying how you almost beat someone to death, or burned someone to death. It's benders like you that give all other benders a bad name. You say that people are wrong for fearing us but you're the reason why they do. You're the exact portrayal of why people hate us!"

"I'm not a bad guy!" he yelled. "Those people in the paper, my so called 'innocent' victims, had it coming to them. They were lowlifes, thugs, they brought harm to the real innocents-"

"Just your kind of people." Katara interrupted. Zuko was silent.

No one said anything. They were afraid to. The tension between Katara and Zuko was enough to suffocate someone.

"Alright guys, that's enough!" Aang barged in. "Now Katara, from what you said earlier, everyone just needs to stop. We've had enough drama for today." Katara got up from her chair and left. "Katara, wait. Don't-" She already was heading up the stairs.

"I'll go see her." Suki said, getting up from her chair. "It's was nice seeing you again, Zuko." Then she went to Katara.

"Nice seeing you also." Zuko sat down next to Aang. "Why does your girlfriend still resent me. I've done so much already to get her to like me. And yet she still doesn't. What's the deal. I mean, you guys like me, right?"

"You know I do." Aang replied.

"So what's her problem?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I think she just has it out for your family."

"I hardly even like my family. Except for my uncle and my mother."

"How is Iroh these days?"

"He went to Japan about two months ago to teach fire bending to some kids."

"Is he still in that organization?"

"The Order of the White Lotus? Yeah. He's been doing good for himself. He even gave me his old place to stay."

"That little house on the street with the little corner grocery store? That's where you've been this whole time?"

"Out in the open. The last place anyone would ever think to find me. Pretty ironic, huh?"

"I can't believe that's where you were this entire time."

"If I known where you guys were, I would've told you a long time ago." The two of them began to laugh and catch up some more.

-----

Suki went to go talk to Katara.

"Katara, what's the matter."

"I'm sorry, I just can't handle being in the same room with Zuko."

"Okay, well let's not talk about Zuko then."

"It's not just Zuko. It's what's going on all the time, and Sokka in the hospital. Everything is just going wrong. The world is against us, I don't know how much more I can take.

She could tell that Katara was really irritated. This made her feel uncomfortable. Then she came up with an idea. "How's about after we see Sokka tomorrow, we all go out into town. Just us girls. A little time away from all this is probably what you need. I'll even call Toph. We can all hang out with each other again."

Katara had to admit that that was a good idea. And it probably is what she needs. Time away from drama. "That sounds great, actually."

"Awesome. Let me go call Toph."

"Actually, let me. I know her number."

-----

The two guys were still in the kitchen, laughing and catching up.

"So how are you and Katara these days, Aang?" Zuko asked.

"Well, actually, not all to good I'm afraid. It's kind of hard to be the Avatar, and try to be with the one you love. I'm always out trying to settle peace and I hardly ever have time to be with her. I think she's sad."

"Hmm." was all he said, taking another sip of his tea.

"How about you and Mai? Did that last?"

"No. After the war, she said I changed. Changed too much. She didn't like it, so she left."

"Wow, that's sad."

"Yeah. But to be honest, I thought it would've ended one way or the other."

"You know, you did change, Zuko. And I mean for the better. You're not so down anymore, you're funnier, cool to hang out with. I don't see why Katara doesn't see it."

"Me either. But I'll find out one day." Zuko took one last sip of his tea before he noticed how late it was. "I think it's about time for me to get going." He got up from his chair and put his jacket back on.

"Already?" Aang questioned.

"I got to get up early tomorrow. I have places to go, people to see."

"Do you need help getting out of here?"

"I'll just leave the way I got in." Zuko headed for the front door.

Aang noticed the manila folder was still on the table. "Zuko, what about this?"

"Keep it. See if you can find anything new. I've seen enough already. And now I'm going to make my own leads." Zuko turned the door knob and pulled open the door. He looked back at Aang. "Take care, almighty Avatar." Then he left.

Aang stood there, staring at the door. "Likewise, Zuko. Likewise."

-----

Zuko stood outside of the house. He looked up to the sky. Clouds were covering up the moon, seeming like it was going to rain. He had better hurry and get out of there. Sneaking around when it was drizzling was hard. But before leaving, Zuko took a tape recorder out from his pocket. He looked at his watch, then pressed the record button.

"August 17, 2009, 10:44 P.M. My name is Zuko. I'm making this audio log to record the events that follow from this day. When I realized that benders all over the world were in great danger…"


	2. Chapter 2

Morning came. The sun illuminated the sky. No clouds, not to hot, it seemed a nice day to most people. But not to all.

Katara was in the kitchen, making breakfast. She was already set for the nice day out with her friends. She had been awake since about four in the morning. Katara couldn't sleep for that long. Not because of what's been happening recently, just because she couldn't. Yet another problem to think about.

"Good morning, Katara." Suki walked into the kitchen. She, too, was ready for their day out.

"Morning Suki." Katara responded.

"What are you making?"

"Just some eggs and toast. Something to give me some energy."

"Yeah, I heard you up early this morning."

"I just can't sleep that much lately. I don't know why."

"Is it because of what's going on?"

"This has been happening for a while already. Even before all this drama."

"Are you an insomniac?"

"I hope not. That's the last thing I need."

The doorbell rang. The guard usually answered the door, but both girls beat him to it this time. They had a feeling who it was. Katara opened the door and there stood Toph, escorted by three bodyguards.

"Toph!" both girls shouted. All three girls were brought together in a giant hug. "Oh, we've missed you."

"I've missed you guys, too." Toph told them. "And it's been so long, Suki."

"Too long, I know."

"Hey Toph." Aang came down the stairs to greet his old friend.

"Hey Twinkle Toes. Still trying to save the world?"

"Yeah, I'm suppose to go talk with the President today."

"Is that why you're all dressed up?" Suki asked. Aang was wearing black pants, black shoes, black turtle neck with a purple jacket.

He nodded, "It looks nice, doesn't it?" Both girls laughed. Toph was confused since she couldn't tell what he looked like.

"You still are coming to see Sokka before you leave, right?" Katara asked.

"Of course. I wouldn't miss that for anything?"

-----

"_August 18, 2009, 11:14 P.M._

_I'm recording these logs at night, when the day is over. That way I can reflect on the entire day with out the constant annoyance of stopping then starting again every few minutes after finding something new._

_Yesterday, a teen named Daniel Marcus was attacked and nearly killed. Found that he was on to something huge. Something that deals with hundreds of dead benders from around the world. Still I know nothing about Project Phoenix but know it plays an important role in this mystery. Exactly what? Still needs to be discovered._

_I started the day by searching for some leads on the people who attacked Marcus. Had to pay a visit to some old acquaintances from the past…"_

Zuko walked along the sidewalk. His hood covering up his identity from the world around him. He stopped in front of a bar. It looked practically rundown. Zuko knew the guy that owned it. He owed Zuko one, and it was time he repaid his debt. Zuko walked in through the door.

Immediately the smell of nicotine and sewage found it's way into Zuko's nose, almost making him gag. He noticed the strange looks he was being given by the people in the bar. Some already knew who he was, and questioned his presence there. Zuko quickly eyed the area, trying to find who he was searching for. It was hard to tell with all these people covering the place. But he found him, playing the music behind the old broken down grand piano. Zuko walked over to him.

The guy behind the piano seemed all to casual. The classic sound of Beethoven's 2nd Symphony emitted from the instrument. Then his name was called, and by a familiar voice none the less. "Zhao." He stopped playing and looked to see Zuko staring at him.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned.

"Why do you think I'm here? It's time to repay your debt to me." Zuko took out a newspaper from his jacket and threw it onto Zhao's lap. Zhao picked up the paper and read what was on the front page, 'Local Teen Attacked. Now in Coma. No Leads Found.'. "That teen was a friend of mine. Someone tried to have him assassinated."

"And you think I know something." Zhao assumed.

"I think you know who to go to if someone wanted another person taken care of." Zhao didn't answer. He just sat with his arms crossed. "Come on, Zhao. You lived in this part of the city with all these lowlifes for over a year now. You own a bar for God's sake. People are always talking. You've got to know something."

"If you haven't noticed, my bar isn't the most attractive place around." he responded.

"Perfect for attracting people who talk about things that I happen to be asking questions for."

"Look, I'm just trying to live a normal life. I work for a living. I've fallen down the wrong path once, and I was lucky enough to leave that behind. Which I thank YOU for. But I'm struggling right now, and I don't need anymore things going on in my life."

"You know, your life would've been behind bars if it weren't for me. The government thinks your dead BECAUSE OF ME. If they knew you were alive, you'd be like me running each day. I've given you the 'freedom' that you so deeply admire and now I expect something in return. And what I want in return are answers." Zuko commanded. The force in his voice actually seemed to scare Zhao a little. Zuko was proud of how intimidating he sounded.

"_I'd like to thank the academy."_

His words seemed to break Zhao right out of his stubbornness. "That woman over there, sitting by herself," he pointed to a table in the back. A woman, with a paper blocking her face sat alone with an unopened beer bottle. "She's someone I think could help you out with trying to find your assassins. She's in the business also." From studying the woman's figure, Zuko had a distinct feeling that he already knew who this person was.

"Thanks." was all Zuko said before he left. As he walked over to the woman, Zuko noticed he was still getting weird looks from the people. Especially from this one man. A big, burly biker looking guy with a scruffy beard drizzling with drops of alcohol. Zuko just ignored the people, especially the big biker. He got to the table where the woman sat. He studied her for a second before saying something. "Jun?"

She lifted down the paper to see him. "You again." Jun said. Not with disgust, but with slight annoyance. "How do you keep finding me?"

"I didn't even try this time. You just happened to show up at the right moment."

"_Jun was not an assassin. Zhao was wrong on that part. But she would still know something. She was, in fact, a skilled bounty hunter. Probably one of the top best in the entire world. She helped me back during the war to find Aang and almost helped me capture him. That was when I was on the bad side. And she helped us again when we tried to find my uncle. That was when I already switched sides. And now here she was again. Helping me out one more time."_

"So who do you need me to find for you this time?" she asked, finally opening her beer.

Zuko took the paper she was reading and turned it over to the front page. "I'm looking for the people who did this."

"What, are you still trying to play hero?" She took a drink from her bottle.

"No. This one is personal. The person who was attacked is a friend of mine."

"Sorry to hear that. But I'm not an assassin, there's nothing I can really tell you."

"Same thing I told Zhao over there. I your line of work, you tend to hear a lot of things. Things that fall into the category of questions I'm asking. Give me something, Jun." She stared at him blankly. Zuko could tell Jun knew something, she just wasn't telling.

A brief sigh from her followed, "I heard that there have been a lot of contracts going out on specific people. Benders." Zuko focused on everything she was saying. "And that they've been ordered all by one source."

"Who?"

"Don't know. Whoever they are they keep their name secret."

"Isn't that a little suspicious?"

"With the price this person offers, no one asks questions." Zuko got annoyed. He was hoping this would've led somewhere. "A lot of assassins were killed in these types of contracts. But some were able to do it."

"Only some?"

"And they were assassins at top of their game."

"Who are they?"

"Don't know. Assassins never give out there real names."

"Where are they?"

"Don't know that either. No one ever heard from them since they completed the contract."

"They just disappear?"

"Without even so much as a goodbye." Things were starting to come together. Now Zuko knows that there is something going on. Someone is out to get benders. "Did you know that the government is in the process of producing special soldiers trained to hunt down benders."

"Everyone knows that. They'll search the world to find every bender and contain them."

"Not contain, from what I hear. But eliminate."

Zuko looked at her with a questionable eye, "Excuse me?"

"Yup. Seems that Uncle Sam has his work cut out for him. You of all people should know that benders aren't the most trusted. Everyone's scared of you guys, and they want to see you gone."

"They can't just kill us all."

"They plan to."

"It's inhumane."

"Zuko, where have you been. Usually you'd be the first before anyone to think the government would do something like that. They think if they can kill off the bloodline of benders, they'll be able to stop anymore of them from becoming hostile. Like you dad, for example. And since the world hates you, no one would oppose the idea."

"_As much as I hated to admit it, Jun had a point. Humans were simple, naïve beings. They are afraid of anything that is abnormal to their ways. When benders first made their appearance to the world two to three decades back, we were blocked off from humanity. Segregated from the rest of the world, forced into containment. We were treated as if we were a plague and were to be quarantined, so we couldn't harm anyone else. Years it would be before the world decided that we couldn't be kept locked up our entire lives, and we were freed. It was discovered that world leaders thought if they had kept benders locked away for years, it would make them insane and perhaps even hostile. So they tried to undo the damage that had been done. But it was too late. I was lucky enough to be born after benders were free to walk the streets. But my father, known as Fire Lord Ozai to many, was born in these containments and grew up in them for sixteen years. He saw how the people had locked him up. Imprisoned him with his kind. My father saw how humans were afraid of him and what measures they would go to for him to be restricted from normal human beings. They were weak, scared, and predictable. That is what made him to what he is known as today. And that is why people are afraid of us, afraid of my family, and afraid of me. My father tarnished the reputation of benders and most likely condemned us to death. But now that I knew what was going on, I knew I had to stop it."_

"Hey." a deep slurry voice came from behind Zuko. He turned his head slightly and saw that big biker from before, along with someone else. Probably a friend. "I know who you are. You're that freak with the fire."

"_Nice description."_

"You go around this city playing hero. Last week, heard you took down a drug warehouse after one of the guys from there raped someone the night before."

Zuko remembered that night. He had been walking home when he saw a guy walk out from a back alley. As he walked past the alley, Zuko could hear little faint gasps of air, like someone was crying. When he went to check, he found a girl, probably no more than fifteen, curled up and beaten badly. He went back to see if the guy was still around, but he was nowhere in sight. Zuko went back to the girl, still shaking. He asked if she was okay but she didn't answer. He saw her shirt had been ripped and her underwear had been hanging by her ankles. Red lines around her mouth showed that the man grasped her mouth so she couldn't yell out for anyone to help her. That son of a bitch. He was going to pay. The last thing Zuko did that night was take the girl home. It took him a while to get her to trust him. He had to tell her that he wasn't going to hurt her and he was going to find the guy that did this to her and make him sorry before she would even stand up. When they got to her house, the girl gave him a wallet. It had belonged to the guy. She must have pulled it out of his pocket when he didn't notice. How could he. Bastard. Then the girl walked into her house, and Zuko took a look inside the wallet. No I.D., but there was a torn piece of paper with an address on it and date, Aug. 10. The next day.

Zuko found the guy, and busted a big drug expedition while doing it. And still to today, people call him a monster.

"Yeah. What a big hero you are. You know, everyone in that warehouse was arrested and put away for a long, long time." Zuko didn't like where this was going. "I knew someone that got busted in there. My brother." He took out a switchblade.

Zhao came up to them. "What's going on here?"

"This doesn't concern you. Get going." the biker commanded.

"You need to get the hell out of here." Zhao replied, being more assertive.

"I said this doesn't concern you. So fuck off!" Zhao was starting to get furious. Zuko could see the flame starting to ignite in his fist. He signaled for Zhao to stop, not wanting him to get involved. Zuko could handle this guy. "C'mon Scarface , I have some business with you." The biker put his hand on Zuko's shoulder.

Zuko grabbed it and immediately the hand sizzled with his fire bending. The guy was screaming in pain. The whole bar watched as his hand burned in Zuko's grasp. The biker tried to stab Zuko with the switchblade, but he grabbed it with his other hand and it melted with the heat. Zuko quickly let go of the knife and placed his hand on the biker's face. His scream grew louder, but Zuko didn't let go. As soon as he did, the biker fell to the floor, agonizing in pain. Zuko looked to the friend that came with him. The guy saw Zuko look at him and ran away, frightened.

"Nice one." Jun commented.

Zuko looked to both her and Zhao. "Both of you, keep me informed. If you find out anything, you tell me. Okay?" They nodded. With that, Zuko took off. Behind him, he could hear the biker yelling.

"My eye! That son of a bitch burned my eye!" Zuko brought his hand to his scar.

"_Now he knew how I felt."_

-----

Katara, Toph and Suki were just being seated at one of the finest restaurants in all the city; The Jasmine Dragon. They had went to see Sokka in the hospital before. Doctors said they had already started to see signs of improvement in his condition, which is very rare. Maybe he wasn't in bad of a condition as he seemed to be. So that shined some light on the day. Aang left as soon as the visit was over. He was taken to D.C. to talk with the president about some topics dealing with other benders and trying to make peace. And it was just the girls. Out on the town for a nice, relaxing day.

"This place is nice." Suki claimed. "Just look at the view." The girls were seated right next to a big window, revealing the entire city. It looked so nice.

"Usually it takes forever to get a table here." Katara told them.

"Good thing we know Iroh." Toph said.

The waiter came up to the three girls and asked what they wanted to drink. They ordered and the waiter left to go get them.

"So, what do you think. Not a bad way to start off our day out wouldn't you say?" Suki asked.

"Depends on how good this food is." Toph replied.

"I think it's just nice to be out of that 'private home' on the base." Katara said.

"Why do you guys even have a private home in the first place?"

"After the war, Aang thought we'd be safer at Omashu, under General Bumi's protection."

"Didn't he retire a while ago?" Suki asked.

"Yeah. That's why Aang wants to relocate. Probably to Ba Sing Sae."

"I hear it's gotten better over the year. That would be great for you two."

"Well there's the thing." Katara paused. "I don't think I'll be going with him."

"Why?"

"Did twinkle toes do something?" Toph questioned.

"No," Katara responded, "It's just that he's hardly ever around anymore."

"Well, he is the Avatar." Suki pointed out.

"Which is exactly the problem. He's always busy with trying to save the world and bringing peaceful solutions to all these problems. I'm not saying it's a bad thing. It's just… well… distracting. Him and I have been having difficulty with trying to maintain our relationship."

"So what's gonna' happen?" Toph asked.

"You two aren't going to break it off, are you?" Suki questioned.

Katara thought for a while before responding, "I don't know."

"This is something Oprah should be helping you with."

Katara smirked, "Jeez, thanks Toph."

"Really, the question that I've been wanting to ask is why are you and Zuko still fighting?" Suki's face shot up.

"How'd you know about that?" Katara asked.

"Aang told me. Just before we left to the hospital."

"Toph, do we really have to talk about this?"

"Well, if I don't get an answer, it's gonna' bother me all day. And I won't be able to enjoy myself. So what's with you and Zuko?"

Katara stayed sane. She wasn't going to let her feelings get in the way. A bad mood was out of the question for a nice day out. "I just don't trust him."

"That's the same thing you said before."

"And it's as true as it was then as it is today."

"We all trust him. How come you can't?"

"Because he's a traitorous deceptive person. And he shouldn't deserve anyone's respect."

"Yeah, we all know how he betrayed you and almost got Aang killed. But he changed himself and helped us defeat Ozai. His own father for crying out loud!"

"Him being Ozai's son has nothing to do with it?" Suki asked.

"Please, that's the least of the reasons why I don't trust Zuko. How many times are we going to go over this, guys?"

"I think you don't give Zuko a chance." Toph claimed, "You liked him once. And when I say 'liked', you know what I mean." Katara blushed. She had to admit that at one time, she did find Zuko… attractive. "I don't see why you can't do it again."

Katara knew this was going to far. "This conversation is over." Just then, the waiter showed up with the girls drinks. Perfect timing. Katara was getting tense.

-----

Zuko hid behind a pile of wooden crates, waiting for a big cargo truck to pull up.

"_I visited so many others to see if the had any information on the attackers. I found nothing new. Everyone was oblivious to what was going on around here."_

The truck pulled up. Right away, two military personnel, each armed with an assault rifle, hopped out from the back. They began to lift boxes a place them into the truck. That's when Zuko made his move.

"_With not finding anything else new in this mystery, I saw to pay a visit to Daniel. Check to see if he was alright, and most importantly, secure."_

Zuko rolled underneath the truck. Quickly he grasped onto the undercarriage and held himself on. Soon, the soldiers had finished loading and the truck had started back up and drove away.

"_The only piece of information I found so far was from Jun, and that wasn't even much to work with. Yeah, I found out that the government is conspiring against all benders. But I wasn't entirely convinced that it had anything to do with Project Phoenix. Politicians these days are more sneaky, always have a backup plan. So what else did they have up their sleeves. I knew I needed to find out more."_

Stopping by the front gate, Zuko let go of the undercarriage and rolled behind some more crates, avoiding being seen by the guards. With them focusing their attention away from where he was, Zuko quickly made his way to the hospital.

"_Just didn't expect to find my next clue here."_

……

The door slid open to the room Sokka was being kept in. He couldn't believe it. Best heath care this guy's getting, but where's the security?

Zuko looked at Sokka. This was the first time he's seen him in a year. To bad it couldn't be more lively, he thought. Zuko saw all the bruises on his face and arm. He was also a little swollen. Whoever did this to him really didn't want anyone to know what Sokka knew. That's why it's so important to Zuko to find the people who did this and find out what they're planning. But with hardly any leads, what was he going to go on?

……

Before Zuko knew it, twenty minutes had passed since he snuck in. His gut told him he should get going before someone found him. So he stood up and walked over to Sokka one last time. He stared at him longer than he did before. "What did you know, Sokka?" he said quietly. Zuko turned around, about to put his hood on, when he heard a gasp. He quickly turned back around and saw Sokka's taking heavy breaths. "Sokka!" Quickly, Zuko ran over to him. Sokka's eyes were open slightly. He was waking up. "Sokka! Stay in there. I'm going to get some help."

"D…" a faint voice tried to speak.

"Just hold on." Zuko was going back to the door when Sokka suddenly grabbed his arm.

"D-Die…" Sokka was trying to speak. Zuko was confused to what he was trying to say. "Die…"

"Die? Who dies?" He didn't know what Sokka was trying to tell him. Who was dying?

"Die-Lee…"

"Who's Lee?"

"Die Lee." Sokka forced one last word before falling into unconsciousness once again. His vital signs returned to normal. And Zuko was left in a stump. Lee? Who was Lee? And why did Sokka want him to die? Or was he already dead? Maybe Sokka wasn't saying it right. Or Zuko may have heard it wrong. He wasn't sure.

Footsteps could be heard running down the hall. Zuko didn't want to leave, but he couldn't risk being caught now.

The people came into the room, door closing behind them. "His vital signs were high a while ago. What happened?" said one.

"I don't know." said the other. Then their confusion was put to a halt when the sound of the door opening and closing alarmed them. They looked and saw no one was in there with them. They checked outside to see if anyone was out there. Nobody. They stood there, heads scratching.

Zuko peered at them from around the corner. Then he headed for the stairs.

-----

The girls laughed as they walked up the path to the front door. The day was exactly what they needed. Especially Katara. She couldn't thank Suki enough for suggesting this. It started with a nice lunch at The Jasmine Dragon, if not a little awkward at first, then a soothing, relaxing afternoon at the spa, then ending with a pleasant evening shopping at the mall. They all felt like they were normal people again. Even Toph, not one to be all ladylike, had fun.

"Well Suki, I've got to admit you had the right idea setting this up. Good job." Toph told her, nudging her in the arm.

Suki rubbed the spot where she was hit, "It was my pleasure. I could tell everyone was stressing. Even I was. So that's why we needed a day to ourselves."

"Well thank you, Suki. I'm happy that you suggested this." Katara said.

"Your welcome. But next time we do something like this, lets have everybody with us."

"And by everybody, you mean?" Toph questioned.

"You know, Aang and Sokka… and Zuko." Suki quickly added. Katara stared back at her. The look in her eyes scared Suki a little. "Aw, come on Katara. He's not a bad guy."

"Didn't we talk about this earlier today. You know why I don't like him."

Toph interjected, "You said you didn't trust him, you didn't say anything about not liking him." Toph gave her a wink.

"Stop it Toph." Katara commanded.

"You don't even give him a chance, though. I bet if you'd take the time, you'd think he's nice. He has changed, Katara."

"Guys, I've already told you why I don't get along with Zuko. Now can we just drop it?" she pleaded. The two girls just nodded. "Thank you. Now let's get inside and try on the clothes we got." Katara got out her keys to unlock the door, but was shocked when she discovered the door was slightly open.

"What's wrong?" Toph asked.

"There's someone in the house." Everyone froze. "Suki, give me your bottle of water." Suki tossed the bottle to her. Katara quickly bended the water out of the bottle. She opened the door quietly as she could and walked in. Everything seemed to be in shape. No objects were on the floor, nothing had been broken. But she heard something moving around in the kitchen. Katara readied her water to strike whoever was there. She silently approached the kitchen. There was someone in a black shirt sitting at the table. Katara approached him as quietly as she could, making sure not to alarm him before she made her move.

"Wait Katara!" Toph yelled. Katara dropped the water onto the floor.

The guy turned his back to look at them, "Hey guys, didn't hear you come in."

"Zuko?!" Katara exclaimed.

"That's what I was going to tell you. I knew it was him. I could feel his vibrations." Toph explained.

"Yeah, I came here because yesterday I left this folder here so you guys could look it over. Now I need to look at it again because I think I missed something."

"You broke into the house?" Katara questioned, accusingly.

"I didn't break in. The front door was open." Zuko told her. Katara couldn't believe him. How could he sound so casual when he just walked into a house uninvited. And the girls couldn't see why she hated him? "By the way, Sokka almost woke up from his coma." The girls jumped upon hearing the statement.

"What?" Katara questioned.

"You're kidding?" Toph asked.

"When?!" Suki exclaimed.

"Unfortunately, it was only a relapse. He's not completely out of it." Zuko explained. The expressions of the girls saddened. "But he tried to tell me something."

"What did he say?" Katara asked.

"Does the name Lee mean anything to you?"

"No." Katara replied. She looked back to see if the other girls knew anything. They just shrugged or shook their heads.

"Well Sokka kept saying 'Die Lee' to me before going back into a coma. I've been looking through these papers to see if the name Lee showed up somewhere."

"Did you find anything?" Suki asked.

"No." Once again, everyone was rendered confused.

"Are you sure that's what he said?" Katara asked.

"To be honest, no."

"So you probably heard him wrong."

"Either that or he wasn't saying it right. But he repeated it like four times so I'm thinking that's what he was purposely saying."

"Wait, hold up. How'd you get in to see him anyways?"

"I snuck in."

"You snuck in?"

"Well I couldn't walk in like a normal person so I had to improvise." Once again, Katara couldn't believe him.

"How'd you sneak in?" Toph wondered.

"You know, security here isn't really the best. Ever since Bumi left it's really gone to crap. They even have guys with guns as guards. How are guns suppose to stop an earth bender from taking over this place?"

"Don't get any ideas, Toph." Suki said.

"So you snuck into the hospital. What for?" Katara questioned.

Zuko just looked at her. He could tell that she was on the verge of starting a big argument with him. "Why do you think. I wanted to check on Sokka, make sure he was doing better. He had that relapse and after that I came here to do some research."

"Yeah, by practically breaking in here."

"Like I said, the door was open."

"That still doesn't give you the right to just walk in here."

And this went on for a while. Both Toph and Suki actually had gotten bored it was going on so long. It kept going until Aang finally returned. He walked through the door and heard all the commotion. Looking at the two girls watching the event occurring, he asked, "What's going on now?"

"They're just both ticked off at each other again." Toph responded

"They've been at it for about fifteen minutes already." Suki followed.

Aang walked over to the disgruntled pair, "What's wrong with you guys?"

Immediately, both of them stopped. They looked at each other, looked at Aang, then started up again. Aang was overwhelmed with all the voices coming at him. He could just understand that one of them was blaming the other for other things the other one started. Confusing, isn't it?

"STOP!!!" Aang yelled, unleashing a big blast of air. "I don't get you two. Why are you guys always fighting?!"

"Why don't you ask her. She's the one always being judgmental and stubborn." Zuko claimed.

"Well you're always sneaking in and causing grief everywhere you go. Like making us worry more than we already are."

"Well my fault for caring enough to try and help out my friends so they don't end up dead."

"That's exactly what I'm talking about. You're always bringing up the negative of everything. Why can't you ever be positive. Times like these call for people to be positive. But you're never positive, and that just kills me. It kills people. And one day it's going to kill you." With that Katara left upstairs to her room.

Zuko was left speechless, just as everyone else. "Wow… that was… intense." commented Toph.

"I think I better go. Aang, I'm sorry about what happened just right now." Zuko grabbed his hoodie jacket and put it on. Followed by his leather jacket. "Talk to you guys later." Zuko headed out the front door.

The only people left in the room were Aang, Toph and Suki.

"Guys, we need to come up with something to get those two to start liking each other. Because this is getting out of hand." Suki concluded.

"What do you suggest?" Toph asked.

"Well… Aang, you're the peacemaker."

"So I automatically have and idea of how to solve this?" The two of them just stared at him. Of course that's what they thought. "Alright, huddle up. This is the plan."


	3. Chapter 3

I'd like to shout out my appreciation to K-naille and those of you who have my story on alert. It means a lot to know that someone is actually reading my story.

Be sure to review. Thanks.

________________________________________________________________________________

"_August 19, 2008, 10: 41 A.M._

_I'm recording this log early due to some prior engagements that I must attend. Last nights visit to Aang and Katara left a bad taste in my mouth. Left a bad taste in everyone's mouth I'm sure. I got a call this morning from Aang, asking if I would like to have breakfast with him. He said he wanted to catch up some more. Of course, I wanted to try to continue my investigation today. But I'm not going to let down a friend. He said to meet him at the Moon Spirit Diner. Haven't been there in a while. I remember how good the food was. Sounds like it'll be fun."_

_-----_

Katara awoke early once again. Last nights fiasco with Zuko made her even more edgy. So she had even less sleep than the night before. Katara had already showered, gotten dressed, and prepared for the day. All even before the sun had risen. Katara was going to make some breakfast so she could work up some energy. She went to the fridge took out some eggs and other things when she noticed a note on the fridge. Katara took it off and read it.

**Morning Katara,**

**I had to leave early on a last minute meeting with some government officials. I know I'm not going to be there right when you wake up and it saddens me when I don't get to see your face in the morning. So in that case, lets have breakfast somewhere. Meet me at our favorite spot around 11:00. You know the place ****J**

**Love Aang**

**P.S. Be prepared for a surprise.**

Katara was ecstatic. Aang never usually did something like this. She shoved everything she'd taken out of the fridge back in. Katara was overjoyed. Especially since it was at their favorite spot. She loved the Moon Spirit Diner.

-----

Zuko waited for Aang to show, already sitting at a table. His watch had just changed from 10:59 to 11:00. Aang should be here any minute.

-----

A taxi just pulled up in front of the diner. Katara stepped out. Quickly she paid the fee and started to walk up to the door. She was so excited. Katara got into a nice bark blue dress with her hair in the loops like she used to do. Also, she had on her mothers necklace. Probably a little to overdressed just to be going to a diner. But it felt special today. It's been a while since her and Aang had gone out to anywhere. She was just happy. Besides, apart from the place looking a little old and faded, the food here was delicious. Katara pushed open the door.

-----

The jingle of the bell on the door rang out, alerting Zuko. He left his slump and sat up straight. His long hair helped cover up his bad eye, making it look like nothing was there to hide. He perked his head up to see if Aang was coming.

_-----_

Katara looked around to see where Aang was. She couldn't find him. She walked further into the diner. Maybe he was by the front where the windows were.

-----

Zuko couldn't see Aang. But he did spot someone he knew. He face turned almost red.

-----

Aang wasn't where she thought. But someone caught her eye.

-----

"Katara?" Zuko questioned.

"Zuko?" Katara responded. Both were shocked to see the other one was here with them. And at the same time irritated.

"What are you doing here?" they both asked in unison. Katara's head was starting to boil, Zuko's was starting to fume.

"Aang left me a letter telling me to meet him here for breakfast." Katara told him.

"Aang left me a message telling ME to meet him here for breakfast." Zuko told her. Immediately, they saw what was going on. The two of them had been set up. This was an intervention, sort of. Aang had called them together to one place so that they could work out their differences. Smart, very smart.

"I don't believe this." Katara had taken a seat across from Zuko. "This was suppose to be the first time in a while that Aang and I would have gone out with each other." She was furious.

"You think I'm happy about this. I came here thinking I could catch up with an old friend. Maybe feel like I wasn't the most hated person in the world right now. And look what happened." They gave each other ugly looks. They thought Aang would show up any minute to come and give a long peace speech in hopes the two of them would make up with each other.

"Well I'm not waiting until he shows. I'm out of here." Katara told him, getting up from her seat.

"Likewise. I lost my appetite anyways." They both were about to leave when the waitress came to their table with a tray with two plates of food. She set them down on the table. The two teens looked at each other in confusion.

"Did you order?" Katara asked.

"No."

"Actually," the waitress spoke, "this order was called in about fifteen minutes ago. Said there would be two people here at about eleven arguing with each other and that the order was for them. And since you're the only two arguing and it's now 11:02, I assume he was talking about you." They just stared at each other, amazed. Aang had predicted them so very clearly. Was that really how predictable they were? "Also, he told me to write down a message and give it to you. So, here." the waitress passed Zuko a piece of folded paper. Zuko took it. "Well, enjoy." Then she walked off. Katara and Zuko were still stunned. They each looked at their plates. Katara had the French Toast Special, complete with three French toasts, scrambled eggs and hash browns. Zuko had five flapjacks, two eggs over-medium and four slices of bacon. Aang knew exactly what they liked. He remembered. The two slowly sat down.

Katara looked to Zuko, "What does the note say?" she said as calmly as she could.

Zuko stared at the note before opening it. He read it aloud. "Hey guys. I'm sorry it had to come to this, but me and the others have been talking, by others I mean Suki and Toph, and we came to realize something. Your guy's constant feuding is getting out of hand. You two need to settle your differences and settle them fast. That's why we set you up on this date." Their eyes turned big on that last word. "Yes, **date**. Take this time to get to know each other more and find out how to stop ticking each other off. I would have come to help out, but quite frankly I'm scared of what you guys might do to me." They laughed a little at that last comment. "Besides, it's best if you two could solve this on your own anyways. I already paid for the breakfast, I even left a good tip. This is my treat, so try to at least make an effort to solve this. And please don't run out on each other. Do it for me." Then he set the note on the table. Zuko and Katara couldn't believe that their friends would go to such an effort to try and help them. The two of them must be really bad. "Well, the food does look good." Zuko commented. They each grabbed their own utensils and started to dig in.

-----

"So what do you think they're doing now?" Suki asked.

"They probably killed each other already." Toph claimed.

"Don't say that." Aang told her. "We need this to work out so we can cooperate again. If it doesn't, we will never be able to focus with each other. Pray that it does work."

"You just don't want Katara mad at you when she comes home." Toph claimed.

He blushed a little. "Would you want her mad at YOU?"

-----

For the first couple of minutes, the two teens ate silently. Not even passing a glance to each other. It felt so awkward between them. They hated each other, yet here they were practically on a date. How did they end up like this?

More time had passed. Neither one of them seemed to be trying to make an effort to talk at all. The awkwardness was reaching an all time high. Zuko had it. The tension needed to be broken.

"Well, Aang set us up here to get our differences out of the way. So… maybe we should try something."

"Like what?"

He shrugged his shoulders. Zuko didn't know what to do. "We could tell each other our past." Katara rose an eyebrow. " I mean, neither of us know anything about each other. Figure that's a good place to start."

Katara stared at him. She could see he was at least trying to make the effort. She figured if he could do it, so could she. "Alright."

"You start." he replied.

Katara sat up right and began to explain her childhood. "I grew up on a reservation. I was part of this tribe." She looked to see if Zuko was even paying attention. It was hard to tell with one of his eyes being covered. "We worshipped the water benders. I think I remember hearing my Gram-Gram say something about how we were somehow connected to the first water benders. I never really heard the full story. Anyways, because they all worshipped water benders, and I was one, they treated me like I was a goddess. A messiah of some sort."

"Weird."

"You're telling me?"

"That must have been a heck of an experience?"

"I guess. It was more of a burden, actually. People treated me different, I was always being watched after. And I was always being forced to learn water bending. You know how frustrating it is when you have to learn something, but no one around can teach it to you?" Zuko nodded his head slightly. "It gets very stressing."

"But you learned it, right?"

"Not until we went to the north pole with Aang. You remember."

"Right." Zuko sighed.

"And when I found Aang, it only convinced the tribe more that I was a goddess. Sent here to help the Avatar save the world. The only one who treated me like I was a normal person was Sokka. And as weird as it sounds, I'm glad he didn't think I was anyone special."

"Well, he does think you're special."

"But not like the way everyone else thought of me. When he looked at me, he didn't see a goddess or a water bender, he saw me. Just me. His sister."

"What about your mother or father?"

"My dad wasn't always there. He was out fighting in the war. And my mother passed when I was only a little girl."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Katara brought her hand up to the necklace, "This is all I have left of her. This is how she's always with me." Her eyes started to water up, but she held the tears back. "After the war was over, Sokka and I were reunited with our dad. And because I had this necklace, it was like my mother was there also. And it felt like our family was together again." Zuko smiled. He was happy she was opening up to him. This means that there is some improvement of trust going on between the two. "Well, that's all I got for you. Your turn."

Zuko did as Katara did before. He sat up straight and began to speak. "Well, okay, where do I begin. I'll start off by saying I'm Japanese, in case you didn't know. I grew up in a rich family. Of course, you know my family weren't the greatest of all people."

"You don't have to tell me."

"Thanks." he said sarcastically. "Anyways, most fire benders looked up to my family. Just like your tribe worshipped the water benders, people worshipped us because my family's lineage were supposedly direct descendents of the first fire benders."

"Really?"

"I don't see how they found that out, since no one really knows who the first fire benders were. So I lived most my life in stardom."

"That's… interesting."

"It's crazy. Honestly, I don't even believe that we were descendants of the first fire benders. People thought we were since our fire bending was considerably more powerful than others."

"Well you have to admit, you are a pretty good fire bender."

Zuko just stared at he in astonishment. "You know, that's like the first compliment you've given me since… well, since we've ever met." Katara laughed a little. "Anyways, you might think I'm crazy for saying this, but I didn't care for being rich or worshipped. Really, all I've ever wanted was my father's respect."

"What do you mean?"

"You see, growing up, I've never really had much of a connection with him. He was always more interested in my sister Azula than me."

"I remember her." Katara's mind reflected back on all those times when they had fought with Azula.

"Azula was much more advanced than me. Never shy to show off in front of our father. She always made me look insignificant in front of him. And he would never even compliment for the little things I did do."

"That's harsh."

"All I wanted from him was a sign that showed that he cared about me. My entire life I waited for something. Then I realized that he did show how much he cared. When he gave me this." Zuko moved the hair covering his eye out the way. What revealed was the burn scar everyone came to know him by.

"HE did that?"

"Yeah." Zuko let go of the hair and it fell back into place.

"I didn't know that." Katara was shocked. She never knew how he had gotten the scar, but she never would've expected that was how it happened.

"You know, for a while, I actually believed that he did it because he really did care. Then I realized he was just an asshole." Katara's still face told Zuko that she was dumbfounded. He would be also if he were in her position. "You know, you're the first person I ever told this to."

"Really? You never talked about this with anybody else?"

Zuko shook his head. "Not to Aang, Toph, anyone. You're the only one who knows the truth behind this scar." She still stared in shock. "Weird. I always thought you'd be the last person I'd tell. Funny how things work out in the end."

She suddenly snapped back into reality. "Wow. I still can't believe it. How could he do that to you?"

"It's alright. Him doing this to me made me realize something. It took a while to understand, but it eventually made sense to me."

"What was it?"

"That I don't need anyone's opinion to know who I am. I know who I am now. And no one can tell me that I'm not." Katara felt a smile form across her face. That aspect about people always amazed her. "My only regret was that I wish I knew who I was sooner. Then maybe I wouldn't be in this situation."

"What situation? With me?"

"THAT, and I wouldn't have to be running from the world just to survive. Everyone hates me for what I was, and I'm at the top of the government's most wanted list. Each day I wake up and think it might be my last. That maybe I might be locked up and thrown away by nightfall."

"You seemed to have stayed clear of them for the past year. You're a pretty hard person to find."

"I can't run forever. You know that. It's only a matter of time before I'm found. Then after that…" he didn't finish his sentence.

"Zuko?" she asked. He stayed quiet. Katara tried to follow him in his silence. Trying to see if she see where his mind was going.

"I can see it now." She gave him a questionable look. "I am always finding the negative in things. It's sad."

Katara remembered that she said that to him the night before. "So why do you do it?"

Zuko didn't know how to reply, "I guess I was just raised around negativity. Looking at it, it always seemed to have kept me alive. Or maybe it was something else."

"Have you ever heard the saying 'the grass is always greener on the other side'?"

"I never really understood what it meant."

"It means from where you're standing now, things are better over on the other side."

"Are you sure that's what it means?"

"Somewhere along the lines of that."

Zuko smirked, "Well, thanks for the words of wisdom."

……

Zuko and Katara had finished their breakfast and had headed out of the diner.

"Well, that went better than I thought it would've." Zuko commented.

"It was nice." Katara replied.

"Aang didn't have such a bad idea after all."

"I guess we should give him some credit. It was pretty smart of him." They stopped at the edge of the sidewalk.

"So…" Zuko rubbed the back of his head, "Are we alright with each other, now?"

Katara smiled. "Well, we had a good start. Maybe time will heal more wounds."

"Okay." Zuko didn't know what else to say. Neither of them did. They hated this awkward silence. "Well, I guess I'll head this way." He pointed to the direction. "Maybe do a little more investigating."

"I'm going to take a taxi back home. I want to see if Sokka's doing better."

"Take care." Zuko said. He waved to her and began to walk off.

Katara waved back. "Bye." She watched him walk away. Katara was surprised. They had come along pretty well this morning. With a little more time, they probably could work out all their differences. She guessed for another time. Katara called out for a cab to come her way.

"Hey." a voice came. Katara turned her head to see Zuko looking back at her. "You know, there's a carnival only a few blocks away from here. Maybe we could-"

"That sounds like fun." Katara blurted. She knew what he was proposing to do so she met him half way. She just wished that when she did say it, she didn't sound so eager.

"Cool. Um, how's about we walk over there. We could talk about more things on the way."

"Sure." Katara walked to him and they continued to the carnival.

-----

The three teens sat in front of the TV, watching the time fly by.

"How long has it been already?" Toph asked.

"About three hours." Suki answered.

"What do you think happened?"

"Nothing happened." Aang almost shouted. "They're fine. I'm sure. It's only one o' clock. They're probably out doing something else." Aang bit his tongue. He was starting to get worried. But he tried not to show it to the others.

"I hope they worked out their problems." Suki said.

"I wonder how pissed Katara is right now?" Toph told them.

-----

Katara screamed as the rollercoaster plummeted. A smile was spread across her face. She looked over to Zuko next to her, his expression was just as hers. Katara couldn't believe it. She was having a great time here with Zuko. When they first got to the carnival an hour ago, both were unsure of how it was going to work out. But time passed and they were having fun with each other. Earlier, Zuko won a giant stuffed bear at a game where he had to throw a ball at bottles to break them. All that time he spent throwing fireballs had really paid off Katara thought, jokingly. Then she won two free bags of cotton candy at a game where she had to shoot water at a target from afar. One could only guess how she won that.

The rollercoaster was coming to a stop. Zuko and Katara's heads were in a daze. They got up from their seats and stepped off the coaster.

"I haven't rode one of those in a long time." Katara told Zuko. "I forgot how fun they were."

"I don't remember the last time I had a rush like that." Zuko commented. The two of them continued down the exit to rest of the carnival. It was a nice carnival. It was set up on a pier so you could see the ocean. The two continued down the boardwalk.

Katara looked at Zuko. "So tell me. What's with the emo look?"

Zuko eyes grew big with that comment. "What do you mean?"

"No offense. I'm just asking what's with your hair style?"

"Oh, well this help covers my bad eye. That way it's harder for people to know who I am."

"Really? Are you sure it's not just because you're converting?"

"Now what's that suppose to mean?"

"I mean, there's always been question about it."

"You guys think I'm emo?"

"Well, things about you always did point to that possibility. The way you dress also makes it seem so."

"Now you're going to start commenting on the way I dress?"

"Hey, I'm just saying-"

"You know that topic could go both ways."

Katara gave him a questionable look. "What's wrong with the way I dress?"

"What's wrong with the way I dress?" he repeated.

"You tell me first."

"No, ladies first."

Katara gave him an ugly, but playful look. "Alright. What's with all these clothes? You have on a red leather jacket, with a gray hoodie underneath, and as I can see a black shirt under that. With black pants and shoes. Can you say, EMO?"

Zuko gave her the same look. "Well what's with this dress you have on? At least I express myself for who I really am, where as you hide behind all this glamour and makeup. Your hair is braided, you have those loops. Where'd you learn how to do that? Vogue?"

"Vogue wouldn't tell you that."

"I guess I wouldn't know."

"And by the way, these hair loops are cultural to my tribe. Shows what you know."

"And how was I suppose to know that?"

"Did you ever ask?"

"Well did you ever ask why I where these clothes? Maybe I have the hoodie because I can cover up my identity from people who are always after me."

"What about the jacket?"

"I got it on sale." Zuko responded with a smirk.

"And the shirt?"

"Do you know how itchy it is to just where a hoodie with no shirt underneath." Katara could see he was joking around and nudged him in the arm. Zuko rubbed it. "Hey, why are we talking about this. I thought we were trying to get on each others good side."

"Your right. I'm sorry."

"Come on, let's head to the haunted house ride."

……

A couple of more hours passed. The sun was setting and Zuko and Katara were getting ready to leave the carnival. It had been a good day after all. What seemed like a bad idea from the start ended up being pretty fortunate. The two took it upon themselves to extend the day from what it originally was set to be and found themselves being more fond of each other in the end.

They walked down the boardwalk. "Well I have to admit I had fun today." Katara said.

"You didn't think it would go well either, did you?" Zuko asked.

"You didn't?"

"At first, no. But I'm glad I was proven wrong."

"Yeah, me too." Looking at Zuko, Katara noticed the sunset. And how it illuminated off the ocean. "Look." She ran to the rails of the pier. Her eyes sparkled. Zuko came up to her, wondering what she was looking at. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"What? The sunset?"

"Look at it. Look at how it reflects off the water. Don't you think it's amazing?"

"It happens all the time. I don't see what's so amazing about it."

Katara sighed, "Why are boys always so ignorant?"

"It's not ignorance. I just don't see what's so amazing. The sun sets over the ocean everyday. It's not like it only happens once in a couple of years."

"Like I said, boys are ignorant. There's so much beauty in the world and guys always seem to look around it. If you would take the time, you would be able to see beauty in so many things."

Zuko then looked to Katara, and saw how her face glistened in the sunlight. How the breeze from the ocean air made little strands of her hair sway. Her smile, her eyes. "Beauty, huh?" Then suddenly he realized what he was thinking, and quickly snapped out of it. He looked away from Katara, so he wouldn't think of anything else. But his eyes caught something.

From across the pier, he saw a girl walking pretty fast down an alley way. Followed by two guys, looking all to mysterious. They followed the girl down the alley. Zuko wasn't sure, but he didn't want to take any chances. He stormed off. Katara saw him.

"Zuko?" she saw he was running out to the street. "Hey wait!" Katara stormed off after him.

Zuko crossed the street into the alley. He saw nobody there. He walked deeper into the alley, thinking they may have turned the corner. Some voices could be heard. Zuko hugged his body against the wall. Silently he walked to the corner and peeked around. He saw a couple of guys, circling around something. Probably the girl he saw earlier. He could hear them saying things. Wasn't sure about what exactly. But when one of the guys moved, he caught a glimpse of that girl, and she looked frightened. That proved it, and Zuko intervened.

"HEY!" he yelled, grabbing the attention of the guys.

"Who the hell are you?" one of them said. Zuko counted them. About six guys there were. All were packing some sort of weapon.

"Hey man, I know that foo'. He's that fire bender that's on the news and shit." another one said.

"For real?" Zuko didn't respond. He saw that the girl was backed up against the wall.

He looked to her, "Get out of here." she started to walk away. One of the thugs tried to stop her, then Zuko sent a fire blast in his direction. "Hurry up!" he yelled. The girl picked up her pace and left.

"Look at this Bruce Lee wannabe mutha fucka right here. Think he all fast 'n shit." the guy laughed.

"C'mon dawg, let's just bounce." the other one tried to tell him, grabbing his shoulder. The guy just pushed it away.

"You should listen to your friend." Zuko warned. "He's trying to save your life."

The thug stood tall, "This mutha fucka thinks he's bad. He ain't nothin' but a bitch. Let's teach this foo' a lesson." The thugs started to come together. Zuko prepared himself.

"Zuko!" a voice shouted out. He looked back and saw Katara turning the corner. He had forgotten about her.

"Katara, GO!" he yelled at her. But it was too late. By the time he said anything she had already noticed the thugs, and they already noticed her.

"And who is this fine piece of ass right here?" the leader said.

"Excuse me?" Katara said.

"Probably this foo's bitch." a different thug said.

Katara was appalled. "What the hell did you just say?!"

"Katara, just get out of here." Zuko told her. Then he noticed three more thugs come up from behind her. He didn't even see them there. They were probably going to strike him when he wasn't looking.

One of them grabbed Katara's butt. She quickly turned around and punched him across the face. He got pissed and threw a punch at her, but she dodged it and kneed him in the groin. He fell almost instantly. Zuko was impressed. One guy down.

"Hey, this bitch has got some spunk." the leader vulgarly stated. Now she was even more mad. Katara noticed a puddle in the center of him and Zuko. Quickly, she bended the water to whip his face. He shouted in pain. "She a bender, too. Get them."

All at once, the thugs charged at Zuko and Katara. Zuko was up close and personal with his attackers. He kept dodging the metal bars and knives being swung at him and delivered a good blast of fire to their stomachs. Katara wasn't as experienced as Zuko was in close-quarters combat, so she did her best to keep her distance from her attackers and take them out with her water bending. It's only hard due to the fact that the only water she had to use was that small little puddle. Zuko was just about finished with his attackers, so he decided to help out Katara. But she seemed to be handling things. Zuko then felt someone sneaking up on him and quickly turned to fire bend a guy into a pile of trashcans. Now he was done with his part, but Zuko realized something. He handled four guys and Katara was handling four guys. There was someone missing.

Zuko looked to Katara. She was still busy handling the one more thug. That's when he saw the leader rushing at her with a knife in his hand. Zuko's first instinct was to shoot him with a shot of fire, but what the guy moved and he hit Katara. He wasn't going to take that risk.

Zuko rushed after him. Time seemed to slow down. He ran as fast as he could. The guy was already starting to lift the knife to strike. Katara's expression slowly changed from intense to bewildered upon seeing him running up to her with a knife. He had already brought it over his head and was now launching it back down. Zuko was going the fastest he could. The knife was halfway to striking. Zuko threw himself at the leader, and tackled him down before the knife could penetrate Katara. Unfortunately, it penetrated Zuko's back. Time came back to it's original form.

"Zuko!" Katara yelled, delivering the final blow on her last thug.

Zuko let out a sharp yell of pain. He lifted the guy he had just tackled to the ground with his good arm and delivered a powerful blow of fire into his stomach, launching him into the wall. He was out.

Katara ran up to Zuko, who was kneeling on the floor. "Oh my god! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." he responded.

He sounded weak. Katara eyed the knife that was still in his back. "Just hold on." She grabbed the knife and pulled it out. Zuko let out another yell of pain. Blood poured out of the wound, which scared Katara. "We have to get you to a hospital."

"No." Zuko responded. "I can't go to a hospital."

"Zuko, we have to."

"Just hold on." He took his hand and stuck a finger into the wound. He then heated up his finger while it was in. Katara could understand what he was doing. To stop the blood from releasing, he would burn the blood inside the wound so it could dry up and block any more fluids from releasing. Smart. She saw the faces he was making and could tell it hurt. She was surprised of how strong willed he is. "There. That should stop the bleeding." Zuko took his finger out of his back. "Can you still heal with water." He asked Katara.

"Only burns." she replied.

"Do you know how to stitch up wounds?"

"Sort of."

Not the answer he was hoping for. "Good enough for me." he kneeled down on the floor once more. "Get on my back."

She gave him a confused look, "What?"

"Just trust me. That's what we're working on, right." he smiled. Katara wasn't sure, but slowly she sat got up and sat down on his back. She felt kind of awkward. Why was he telling her to do this? Zuko stood up slowly. "Hold on tight." Suddenly, his legs ignited in fire and then they both launched into the sky.

-----

Aang paced back and forth in the living room. Now he was really worried. It was now past 7:00, almost pitch dark, and no one has heard from her since this morning. "That's it. I'm going to find her." Aang headed for the front door. "I'll be back." Then he left.

Toph and Suki still sat in the living room in front of the TV.

"Wouldn't it had just been easier to call Katara on her cell phone?" Toph asked.

Suki's eyes widened.

-----

Zuko and Katara landed in front of Zuko's house. No one was outside so they weren't seen.

Katara jumped off of his back. "Next time, warn me before you just take off like that."

"That's if there is a next time. I only use that when I absolutely need to." he responded.

Zuko saw how Katara had her eyes focused on the home.

"Iroh's old house. This is where you've been staying at?"

"Home sweet home." He went to unlock the door.

……

Zuko had placed everything Katara needed to stitch up his wound set on his kitchen table.

"Are you ready." he shouted. Katara was in the bathroom, washing her hands and face. The brawl back in the alley still played in her mind. That was the first time she used her water bending to that extent in a while. "Katara?" he called again.

"Yeah. I'm coming." she replied. She turned off the sink and head to the kitchen.

Zuko was taking off his jacket and hoodie when Katara walked into the kitchen.

"Are you sure you want me to do this?" she asked.

"I can't risk going to the hospital. It has to be done like this." He could see Katara was kind of nervous. "Don't worry. I trust you." Those last words stuck out to Katara. He trusted her.

Zuko started take off his shirt. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Well you can't stitch the wound with the shirt still on. Can you?" He finished taking off his shirt. Katara was shocked. He was incredibly muscular. His abs were ripped, his pecks were hard, and his arms bulged. He was a little skinny, but that could be compensated for. Katara was blushing at the sight of him. "Alright, let's get this over with." Katara slowly approached him. She grabbed some alcohol and dabbed it on a cotton swab.

"Are you ready?" Zuko nodded. Katara rubbed the cotton swab on the wound. He felt a slight sting, then cold. Katara dabbed more alcohol onto the swab and rubbed it again. After that, Katara reached for the needle and thread. She stuck the thread where it went and tied it together. "This is it."

"Go ahead." he told her. Katara stuck the needle into his back. Zuko stiffed up a bit.

"If you don't mind me asking, where do you get all these supplies?"

"I know a guy. Let's just say that." Katara had finished one stitch.

"Why did you go into the alley?"

"Those thugs chased a girl into there."

"I didn't see a girl."

"She got away before you got there."

"So you went to save her."

"One could only guess as to what they would do if I hadn't come." Katara finished another stitch. She was halfway done.

"So, you've been playing hero all this time?"

"I guess you could say that."

"Why?"

"Cause I know no one else will."

"For the past year we've all seen your face in the news and in the paper saying how you almost killed this guy and severely harmed that guy."

"Notice how they only give out that much of the story."

"What do you mean?"

"The media takes the bits and pieces that make me look like a monster and speak of only that. There's always a good reason to what I do. Why I intervened back in that alley today was good example. But the media won't show that because they let people hear what they want to hear. And what they want to hear is a bender causing trouble in the world. People don't like us, don't like me. And they want more of a reason not to. It's just that simple."

Katara, although still stitching up Zuko's wound, carefully took in everything he had to say. His argument was actually making sense. "So why do you do it?"

Zuko turned his head to her, "Help people?" he asked. Katara nodded. "Because when you're in my position, it's comforting to know that one less person hates you."

Katara couldn't believe it. For so long she hated Zuko. She hated the sight, she hated the smell, anything about him she hated. And now she felt sorry for him. Everything she discovered about him today made her realize something. Zuko's life sucked. From being neglected all his life, pushed aside by his sister, and being abused by his only father whom he tried to seek affection from for years. Katara never had it that bad. And if she did she probably would've killed herself. Zuko was a fighter. He wasn't just a snobby, spoiled rich kid who Katara thought he was. He wasn't a emotionless, merciless asshole who tried to take over the world. Zuko was a confused and abused teenager who had everything going against him, including the world, since the day of his birth. And all he tries to do now is prove to the world that he's not a bad guy, yet the world won't let him. Like she never did. His life is sad, and Katara now knows she was wrong about him.

"Remember when you told me the grass is always greener on the other side?" he asked.

"Yeah." she said.

"Just how far is the other side?" Katara didn't have a response to that. She admired the way Zuko thought. Too bad it was so depressing.

Katara finished up the last stitching. "Alright, it's done." She tied it so it wouldn't get lose. Zuko stood up and worked his shoulder. It felt weird, but he'll get used to it. Katara did pretty well on the stitching.

"Good job." he told her. Zuko kept working his shoulder so he'd get use to the feeling. He grabbed a shirt and put it on. "Thanks by the way. I appreciate you helping me out."

"No problem. It was the least I could do for a f-" Katara stopped herself. But Zuko already heard enough to get him interested.

"What were you going to say?"

Katara wished she hadn't said anything in the first place. But now it was to late. She had to say it. "Friend."

There was a moment of silence. "Does this mean we're okay now? Me and you?" Zuko asked.

"Yeah."

"Friends?"

"Friends." Little smiles formed across both there faces. Zuko slowly stuck out his hand. Katara looked at it for a while before realizing what he was trying to do. She stuck out her hand to grab his and they shook each others. They played it as if they were just meeting each other for the first time, keeping it cool and casual. Then something happened. Suddenly their smiles faded away and their cheeks started to blush. They caught glimpse of each others eyes. Katara stared into his sparkling gold while Zuko stared into her pools of blue. They didn't know what was going on, and they didn't know how to break out of it.

BANG, BANG, BANG!!! Someone was at the door. Zuko quickly let go of Katara's hands. They still looked at each other for a brief second before he left to answer the door. BANG, BANG, BANG!!!

Zuko opened the door and was surprised to see who it was. "Aang?!" he said.

"Zuko, is Katara here?" he asked. Just then Katara came walking out of the kitchen.

"Aang?" she questioned.

"Oh, there you are." his voice sounded relieved.

"What're doing here?"

"I'm sorry. It's past seven, I got nervous. I was thinking something happened. Nothing happened, right?"

Both Katara and Zuko looked at each other. Then looked back at Aang, "No." They both smiled.

Aang was relieved. "That's good to know." Katara saw a taxi in the street. It looked like it was waiting for Aang. "So what happened today. You two alright now?"

"How about I explain on the way back home." Katara walked out the door. But before leaving, she turned back to look at Zuko. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." he replied. She walked to the taxi. Aang followed her. She opened the door. Zuko waved to her. She saw and waved back, then sat down in the car. Aang looked at Zuko. Zuko changed his wave to a thumbs up. Aang smiled. Everything must've went alright. He sat in the car and shut the door. The taxi took off.

Aang looked to Katara, "Everything went good today?" She didn't answer right away. Katara was smiling, looking out the window. The moon never looked so beautiful.

-----

Zuko closed his door. His mind was at ease. He didn't know what, but he was feeling something. And it made him feel happy.

Zuko sat on his couch. On the coffee table in front of him laid his tape recorder. He picked it up and pressed the record button.

"August 19 recording continued. An amazing event just occurred. A long feud between me and another just seized and it seems that now-"

"**BOOM!!!"** Zuko's recording was cut short but the loud sound of something exploding from behind him. His front door had just been blown down and from the dust people stormed in and shot some sort of projectiles at him. Zuko quickly rolled out of the way and tried to return a fire blast. But something knocked him down from behind. Then next thing he remembered was being kicked hard on the ground. Then blackout.


	4. Chapter 4

Katara woke up the next morning after everyone else. For the first time in weeks, she had a decent night of sleep. The sun shined through her balcony window doors. Slowly she stood up from her bed and walked outside. There was a cool breeze in the air. Katara stuck her head out to catch the coolness. For some reason, she felt relaxed and happy.

"Katara!" someone yelled. She looked back and saw Suki burst through her door.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Katara, Zuko's been arrested."

"WHAT?!"

……

Katara was in the living room with Aang and Suki watching the TV. It was switched to the news. **"If you're just tuning in,"** it said, **"Zuko, the son of notorious fire bending tyrant Ozai, was found and arrested last night at 7:44." **That was only a couple of minutes after she left Katara thought. **"Zuko has been wanted by the government since the end of the war. A little over a year now. Locals were shocked when they found out that he was living in their neighborhood." **They then showed a couple of his neighbors talking. Saying that they couldn't believe he was there and that they're glad he was caught before he could've harmed them.

"He was living there for a year. He never did anything to anyone. Those people are idiots." Katara spoke. The other two were shocked. Katara would usually agree with anything that went against Zuko. The two of them must have really settled their difference the day before. Suddenly, the door bell rang. Aang went to go get it. When he returned, Toph was with him.

"Hey guys." she said.

"You heard what happened also?" Suki asked.

"Yeah. I can't believe it." She sat down and listened to the TV.

"**Local authorities are not to take credit in this capture. As a matter of fact, the ones responsible for apprehending this dangerous fugitive are part of a special government funded team trained to hunt down benders such as Zuko. This was their first time in the field and it shows they're capabilities are no doubt acceptable." **

"Wait, what?" Aang listened. Everyone listened.

"**They're referred to as the Dai Li."** All four of them froze. Especially Katara. She remembered hearing 'Dai Li' somewhere before. But she couldn't remember. The TV showed five guys standing in front of Zuko's home. And then a man with long braided hair and a beard stood in front of them all.

"Who's he?" Suki asked.

"**We were able to talk with the leader of the Dai Li to understand exactly who they were. We spoke with Mr. Long Feng."**

Everyone paid attention as he spoke. _**"We are specially trained and skilled soldiers. Our soul commitment is to apprehend such dangerous individuals as Zuko. We want to make this world safer. For both people and benders. Soon there will be more of us across the world. Insuring peace to those who are in need."**_ He seemed pretty suspicious to the four teens.

"**Well, there you have it. I just received word that Zuko has been taken to Boiling Rock Prison, where he will await trail. Until then, we can be sure our streets are safer. The Dai Li are our new enforcers against renegade benders. Any bender out there who is thinking of committing any kind of criminal act, beware."**

"Excuse me, Mr. Aang." A guard walked into the room. "I just received a call from the hospital." He stated. Everyone turned to look at him. "Sokka has awoken from his coma."

-----

Zuko walked down the cell blocks, escorted by two guards. He carried his pillow and bed sheets. Looking around, he saw the ugly faces the other prisoners were giving him. And heard the things they were saying to him. This was not going to end up too good.

The guards placed him in Cell Block D. The cell he was assigned to had another man inside. He was smoking a cigarette. The guards practically pushed Zuko in then slammed the gate. They walked away.

Zuko studied the other person in there with him. He couldn't see his face since the guy was at the sink, washing his hands or something. Zuko just saw the fumes from the cigarette.

"You want one?" the guy said, holding out the packet of cigarettes. Zuko thought he recognized the voice. But he wasn't sure who it was exactly.

"I don't smoke." Zuko responded. He set his stuff on the top bunk.

"Well, you sure came here at a good time."

"Why do you say that?"

"Secretly, some prisoners are planning to break out tonight."

"Really?"

"That's what people been saying."

"Of Boiling Rock?"

"I know, it's never been done before. But from what I hear, it sounds like it'll work."

"How do they plan on doing it?"

"That I'm not sure of."

"Then what makes you so sure it'll work."

The guy turned around, revealing his face. "Because it's never been done before."

Zuko had a feeling he knew who it was. He just couldn't believe it. "Jet?"

"In the flesh. So how has it been Zuko? Or should I say Lee, as you once told me?"

"I thought you were dead."

"Everyone thought I was dead. It worked for a while, too. Until the government tracked me."

"What did you have to hide from?"

"Remember I always used to say I had a troubled past. Well, it was bad enough to make me end up here." He sat on his bed and laid back. "I heard you had gotten caught. Just didn't expect you to be bunked up with me."

"Didn't even expect to be bunked up with anybody. Figured the would place me in my own cell."

"Why? Because of how 'dangerous' you are?" Jet told him sarcastically. "If you haven't noticed, this place is a prison for extremely violent benders."

"Then how are you here? You're not a bender."

"But they think I am."

Zuko gave him a confused look. "How?"

"I know a guy who changed my file around to make it seem like I was a powerful earth bender."

"Wouldn't they be able to tell you're lying?"

"They can't force anyone to do anything they don't want to do. I just have to be stubborn about not using my 'bending' and they won't bother."

"And why would you want to be sent to a prison for benders anyway?"

"Because I can break out of here."

"Why just you?"

"Unlike everybody else here, I'm trained in infiltration and stealth. I can easily bust out of here without anyone knowing anything. Also, I can't trigger the UAV scanners."

"UAV scanners?"

"You didn't see them when they took you here? All the exits are guarded by UAV scanners that detect any benders. They're programmed to lock doors if any bender is in the area in which it senses."

"What would you do? Just walk up to the door?"

"Dress up as a guard, I can do anything."

"You plan to dress up as a guard."

"It wouldn't be to hard to steal a uniform. Once I do I can just walk out the front door without anyone thinking anything of it."

"Is that really how you plan to break out, Jet?"

"Why? You don't think it'll work?"

"I'm just saying, you should probably give it more thought before you go through with it tonight."

"And what makes you think I'm planning on busting out of here tonight?"

"Because I am. And I'm going to need your help."

-----

Katara, Aang, Suki and Toph sat in the room with Sokka. Everyone was so glad he was awake.

Katara and Suki hugged him.

"Sokka what happened? Who did this to you?" Aang asked.

"You guys are not going to believe what I found out." Sokka said. "Everyone, get close." The four of them stood close to Sokka's bedside. "Three months ago, I was researching some strange things going on with disappearances of benders across the world. And deaths."

"Zuko has been telling us about that." Katara said.

"Wait, Zuko knows?" he asked.

"He found that folder full of peoples names and stuff in your apartment."

"Sparky thinks there's some kind of plot to kill all benders." Toph added.

"Where is he?"

"He was arrested last night. Now he's at Boiling Rock." Aang explained.

"Some people called the Dai Li caught him." Suki added.

"The Dai Li?! Damn!" Sokka yelled.

"What? What's wrong?" Katara asked.

"Listen, Zuko was half right. There is a plot to kill benders." Everyone froze. "But there's more to it than that."

"You mean Project Phoenix?"

"He told you guys that, too?"

"But there was nothing in the file to tell us exactly what it was." Aang said.

"Project Phoenix is a plot to try and gain control of the world. And the ones behind it are the Dai Li. They're not what they say they are. They're not a special government funded team trained to hunt down benders. They're a secret organization made up of government officials from all over the world. These soldiers are just their lackeys they send out to deal with problems that could expose them. Like me for example."

"Government officials?" Suki asked.

"The tricky part about it is that I don't know who they exactly are. But that they still hold some rank in the government."

"So people inside our own government are conspiring against us?" Katara questioned.

"Like I said, there's more to it than that. Everyone in the Dai Li have been working on a plan since the end of the war. And they were going to base it on Ozai's original plan."

"What was Ozai's original plan?" Toph asked.

"Remember when Ozai was going to try and take control of the Pentagon when we stopped him? Well his original plan was to strike big time political landmarks, like the Pentagon, all over the world to gain control of them and their weapons. The Dai Li took this plan and widened it. They're not going to attack and try to gain control of anything. They already have inside men. And one's with high levels of clearance. The Dai Li have the weapons."

Everyone remained quiet, "And what do they plan to do with all these weapons?" Katara asked.

"Once the current controlling government is wiped out, the Dai Li can come in and take over."

"So… what you're saying is…" Aang realized what was going to happen.

"The Dai Li are going to use the weapons to wipe out the head of the countries governments." Everyone was shocked. They couldn't believe what they just heard.

"How could they do this?" Suki said.

"Like a phoenix. When one dies, another is born from the ashes."

"So what does this have to do with them killing hundreds of benders?" Toph asked.

"The Dai Li have an image for their 'new world', and benders aren't part of it."

"So they just want to get rid of us?!" Katara exclaimed.

"That's their plan, and that's why I tried to warn you guys that night. But they showed up. I'm surprised I'm not dead."

"So you don't know why they didn't kill you?"

"I think it's because the cops showed up. The last thing I can remember before blacking out was the sound of sirens."

"This is bad. Real bad." Aang complained.

"Aang, I'm sorry to tell you this. But with the power they possess, I don't think you could stop them. I don't think anybody could stop them."

-----

Zuko and Jet sat down in the cafeteria. They had just gotten lunch. Zuko looked around. He could see the other inmates passing quick glances at him, whispering to each other. He wouldn't be surprised if someone had tried to come up and start something with him.

"Don't worry about them." Jet spoke. "You won't need to for long."

"How long have you been in this place?" Zuko asked.

"About two months."

"Why are you barely planning on trying to break out now?"

"Shhh, don't say it so loud." he warned Zuko. "I couldn't just break out right away. I needed to study this place. Find out what would work and what wouldn't work."

"But you're just gonna' sneak out in a prison guard uniform."

"Still, you can't just go straight at it. The guards in this prison are kept together tightly. They'd notice if one of their men were missing. We need a good distraction if we want to get out of here. "

"So that's why you want to wait till tonight? When the riot starts?"

"Don't you think that's a good distraction?"

"Well, at least the plan is simple."

"But still it's not full-proof yet. There's a problem."

"What?"

"UAV scanners. If you're going to break out, we need to get you pass them somehow."

"You don't have any plans?"

"Well, I have an idea. But it's gonna require some sacrifice from you."

"I'm up for anything as long as it can break me out of this place."

"Okay then, here's the deal. You heard of solitary confinement?"

"Yeah."

"Well, they have that here. But they have rooms specially made for specific benders."

"What does that mean?"

"The prison's confinement rooms are designed to keep benders with specific types of bending power contained. Each bender gets there own room."

"What are fire bending rooms like?"

"From what I heard, they're cooling units."

"Cooling units?"

"They're like refrigerators for fire benders. The room is kept small, that way it contains the coolant easier. The coolant penetrates the bender's body and cools them down from the inside. In this room, you can't use your fire bending. It completely neutralizes all control of your power for a while."

"Well that sucks."

"But hears the thing. Because it neutralizes you bending, it neutralizes your internal chi. That's where all your power forms from. And since it's neutralized, the UAV scanners wouldn't be able to detect it on you. Therefore, you pass as a regular person."

"Wow. That's pretty smart."

"What? You thought I was an idiot?"

"So all I need to do is get sent to a confinement unit?"

"That's it. Then wait till tonight."

"How do I get sent there."

"By starting a fight and using your bending."

Zuko looked around. He saw a lot of the prisoners still staring at him, giving him ugly faces. "Shouldn't be too hard."

-----

"I was just talking to the president two days ago." Aang was saying. "If I had known what he was planning-"

"Wait," Sokka cut in, "the president isn't involved with the Dai Li. That much I'm sure of. Like I said, the Dai Li plans to strike the heads of each government. The head of ours is the president."

"How could they be so sure that their plan will work?"

Sokka was going respond, but Suki cut in. "Look at today's world. Anybody with power is feared. Benders are feared. Ozai was the most feared of anyone and he planned to use that to his advantage. The Dai Li sees that, and they could use that. And we wouldn't do anything but comply."

"Wait," Toph said, "If the president isn't connected with the Dai Li, couldn't we just tell him what's going on so he could stop it?"

"The president can't do anything. The Dai Li are too well connected. They're more of a threat than Ozai was."

Katara paced back and forth, "How could the Dai Li do this?

"They claim they want to change the world. Make it a better place. But really they just want power." Sokka said.

Katara sat down in a chair. "So why did they go after Zuko?"

"The same reason they went after me. He knew too much."

"But how could they know that?"

"Oh no." Aang spoke. Everyone looked at him, "When I talked with the president, I asked him if he knew anything about the deaths of benders. After that, I recommended he have and investigation to see if there were any secret operations meant to target benders. He must've really gone through with it and someone from the Dai Li probably heard. Maybe one of them has been following us, and discovered Zuko."

"That seems like something they would do." Sokka said.

"So he was right. And he's being penalized for trying to help." Katara said. She was furious. "Well I'm not going to let him rot in Boiling Rock." She stood up. "We need to get him out of there."

"How?" Toph questioned. "They're not just going to let him back onto the streets. They've been after him for a year and count him as one of the most dangerous benders in the world."

"Then we're going to have to break him out of there."

"Excuse me?" Aang questioned.

"Are you crazy, Katara? There's no way we could do that." Suki told her.

"We have to try. Zuko tried to help us. The Dai Li caught him and imprisoned him. And if they plan to kill benders, then he's in a death trap. They could kill him anytime they want to. Are we just going to sit here and let that happen?"

"Katara, I know you mean well. But we can't break him out of that prison. There's a reason benders have their own prisons. So they can't get out." Aang explained.

"Well there's the difference. We're breaking in."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

Katara thought about it for a second. "How's APPA these days?"

……

The lights turned on in the warehouse. In front of the four teens stood a giant metal behemoth. It still looked like it did a year ago. Not one spot on it had rusted.

"Automatic Piloted Projectile Airship. A.P.P.A." Aang continued.

"I haven't seen him since the end of the war." Suki said.

Katara walked up and laid her hand on it, "I can't believe it's been so long." She continued dragging her hand across it's outside. Katara came across the door to get inside it. The control panel opened up, revealing keys to enter a code. She remembered the code and entered it. The door opened.

Inside, when the lights turned on, it still looked the same. All the high tech computers, the interior design, it was the same. Aang came in, followed by Suki and Toph. He went over to the front of the ship and activated it. Suddenly the ship's computers all switched. "Hello Aang." a deep computed voice spoke out. "It's been a while."

"Hello APPA, I know." Aang replied.

"I sense there are others here with you."

"Hey APPA." Katara said.

"Miss Katara. Good hearing you again. Who else is here."

"Hey." Toph and Suki spoke out.

"Nice to hear from all of you again."

"APPA, how are your systems?" Aang asked.

"All my systems are functioning well."

"Do you sense any loose bolts or glitches?"

"Checking… everything checks out successfully. Fuel levels on the other hand are low."

"With an exchange of fuel, are you capable of flying?"

"Affirmative."

Aang looked to Katara, "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"Positive. This is the only way."

Aang didn't want her to do this. But she was right. Zuko was not safe in that prison. They needed to make their move before the Dai Li could make theirs.

"It's okay Aang. We'll make sure she's safe." Suki told him.

"Yeah. We're gonna' get Sparky out of there so fast and be back here before you know it."

"Alright." Aang agreed. "I'm going to try and get into contact with Bumi to see if he can help with this. After that, I'll try to help Sokka get back onto his feet."

"Don't worry Aang. I'll be alright." She hugged him. "Let's get some fuel into APPA."

-----

It was cold. Jet was right in saying some sacrifice would have to be required. Zuko felt numb. His mouth was dry. No, worse than dry. It was frozen. Jet told him, after he would be taken to solitary, that he'd have to wait a couple of hours till the riot had started. A couple of hours itself seemed long. But to Zuko, in this room, it felt like an eternity. He had no idea how long in had been already. How long it would be before he would be taken out of this place. Zuko was unsure of how much more of this torture he could take.

Suddenly, he heard something. Scraping coming from the door to his room. Then thuds. Next thing that happened, the locks on the door disengaged and opened. On the other side stood a person wearing a guard uniform. "So how do you feel?" he asked.

"Like I want to kill you, Jet." Zuko responded in a very faint voice.

He laughed, then took off his helmet. "You knew the risks. I told you." He went to help Zuko out of there.

"When did the riot begin?"

"About fifteen minutes ago."

"Wasn't an alarm suppose to ring or something?"

"It did."

"How come I didn't hear it?"

"This place is practically soundproof."

"What about a those thuds I heard?"

"I took care of the guards who were in charge over here. You also needed a uniform."

-----

APPA shot through the night sky. The girls would soon be at the prison.

"How long till we get there APPA?" Katara asked.

"It's approximately five miles away. Given time till we get there is about a minute."

She looked back to the others, "You guys ready for this?"

"This is crazy, Katara." Suki replied. "But yeah, I'm ready."

"Dido." Toph said.

"Alright, here's what's going to happen. APPA is going to blow a hole through the roof of the prison. If we're lucky, it'll be right in the center of the cell blocks. Then from there on out, we just have to look for Zuko."

"To be honest, that doesn't sound like the best plan."

"It's all we have."

"Boiling Rock Prison is just ahead." APPA said.

-----

Zuko did his best to try and walk. But he was still so disoriented from the confinement room. It was even hard for him to get into the guard uniform. Jet had to put Zuko's arm around him so he could help him walk. The prison was going crazy. Guards were trying their best to keep the place under control. And with both Zuko and Jet wearing the uniforms, it was all to easy to sneak past them.

"How far is it to the front?" Zuko asked.

"We're almost there." Jet told him.

-----

APPA hovered over the roof of the prison. Everybody in the ship could see the havoc that was going on in the prison. The alarms were going off and making a loud siren that could be heard for miles.

"I guess we picked the right night to break someone out of a prison." Suki claimed.

"APPA," Katara called out, "Prepare to fire the missiles."

"Preparing, Miss Katara."

-----

Zuko and Jet were approaching the front of the prison. Zuko's arm was still around Jet. In the distance, they couldn't see anyone. No prisoners, no guards, the place was completely clear.

"Where is everybody?" Jet wondered.

"Just count it as good fortune that we don't have to deal with anyone." Zuko responded. They kept walking to the front gates. This was it. If they made it, they would be out. They would be free. The two of them were right in front of the door.

Suddenly, an alarm went off, and the front gates shut closed.

"What happened?" Zuko questioned.

"Damn! The UAVs' went off." Jet said. He point to the scanners on both sides of the door. Lights on them were blinking red.

"I thought you said they wouldn't go off."

"We probably weren't fast enough. The effects of the coolant wore off." Just then, guards came out from all directions. They all had assault rifles and pointed them at the two.

"One of you is a bender. Who?" one of them said. Jet and Zuko remained silent. How were they going to get out of this?

-----

"Missiles ready." APPA said. "Countdown, **3...**"

-----

The guards repeated their question, "Who is the bender?" Still neither one of the two replied.

-----

"**2..."**

-----

"Screw it. Just shoot both of them."

-----

"**1..."**

-----

Zuko and Jet prepared for the worst. They were so close.

-----

"**LAUNCH."** The missiles fired.

-----

The prison shook. From behind Zuko and Jet, rubble came falling from the ceiling. A huge hole appeared on the roof and something came hovering in. A ship of some sort. Immediately, Zuko could tell who it was. "No way."

The guards were distracted. Jet saw this opportunity and grabbed one of their assault rifles. He opened fire on the guards, who quickly tried to get out of the line of his fire. "Let's go." he said and him and Zuko ran away from the front gate. The guards were getting back up and readying their rifles.

Suddenly, someone jumped out of the ship. A girl. She stuck her arms out and the rubble from the roof levitated off the ground. The guards were getting ready to shoot when the girl launched the rubble at them, barely missing Jet and Zuko. It knocked the guards to the wall.

"Toph! Get back in here." Katara yelled.

"Katara?!" Zuko yelled out. He tried his best to walk over to her on the ship.

"Zuko wait!" Jet yelled.

Katara saw what looked like to guards coming up to the ship. "Stay back!" she yelled.

"Katara, it's me." Zuko said, taking off the helmet. She was shocked.

"Zuko?!" she jumped off the ship and hugged him. He blushed a little.

"What are you doing here?"

"We came to break you out of here."

"You did?"

"Yeah. We found something out that you're not going to believe."

"Katara?" Jet questioned, taking his helmet off also.

"Jet?!" she questioned back. "You're still alive?"

"Yeah, it's a long story. But let's save that for another time." Zuko said hastily, "We need to get out of here now." Zuko boarded the ship, followed by Katara, Jet and Toph.

"APPA, let's get out of here." Katara yelled.

"Affirmative." the ship hovered through the hole it came in from, and shot out into the night sky.

……

"Dai Li?" Jet questioned.

"That's what they really plan to do?" Zuko asked.

"I know it sounds crazy," Katara explained, "but Sokka had been on to them for some time before he was found."

"So that's what he was saying to me two days ago during his relapse." Zuko remembered. "He wasn't say 'Die Lee', he was saying 'Dai Li'. God, I'm such an idiot."

"Don't beat yourself up to hard." Suki said. "There was no way we could've known, or even thought that something like this was going on. It was beyond us."

Zuko cusped his head in his hands. He couldn't think. All that happened right now my his head blurry. "I need to change clothes."

……

APPA hovered over Zuko's house. Toph and Suki stayed on board while the others went inside.

"I'm surprised they haven't cleaned out this place yet." Katara said.

"I was thinking the same thing." Zuko replied from the bathroom. He was getting dressed into his clothes. Jet was somewhere else getting dressed also. Zuko lent him some clothes.

"I know you weren't there for long, but how was it like inside Boiling Rock?"

"It sucked."

"Well I know it sucked. But how was it? How did it feel inside there?"

"It felt… like it sucked."

Katara sighed, "Forget it." Zuko walked out of the bathroom. He had the same clothes on as he did the day before. "Don't you have anything else?" Zuko was about to reply when Jet came into the room wearing the same thing as him, minus the jacket. "Never mind."

"Thanks for the clothes." Jet said.

"No problem. I couldn't just let you roam the streets in that guard uniform."

"It was actually quite comfortable." he teased. The three of them laughed.

"Are you sure you don't want to stick with us?"

"I need to lay low for a while."

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"I have some friends who have a place by the docks. I'm gonna' hide out there."

"I know the last time we saw each other, it didn't go all to well."

"Yeah, I remember."

"But it was good seeing you again."

"Likewise." They both shook each others hand. Jet looked over to Katara. "And it was nice seeing you again also."

"Even if it was only for a couple of minutes." she replied. The two of them shook each others hand.

"Well, I guess I'll be off. Take care guys." With that, Jet headed for the back door. "If any of you want to talk sometime, you know where I'll be."

"Take care." Zuko and Katara shouted. The back door closed shut.

"So are you ready?" Katara asked.

"Yeah, lets go."

……

The four teens walked off the ship. It was parked back in the warehouse in the base.

"Thanks APPA." Katara told it.

"You're welcome, Miss Katara." he replied.

"It was nice seeing you again." Zuko said.

"Likewise, Mister Zuko." After that, APPA switched off, and all four of them left the warehouse.

……

They walked through the front door of the house.

"Hello." Katara spoke. "Aang, are you here?"

"He's upstairs." Toph claimed. "I can feel him. And two others. I think one is Sokka."

"Sokka?" Suki questioned. "He's already walking?"

"The guy's a fighter, I'll give him that." Zuko said.

"What about the other one?" Katara asked.

"I'm not sure." Toph replied. "But they're coming."

"Katara?" Aang's voice rang out. His head peered over the railing. "Oh, thank God."

"Were you worried?" Katara asked.

"What do you think?"

"Hey Aang." Zuko spoke.

"Hey Zuko, it's good to know you're safe."

"Did you say Zuko?" Another voice pierced through. Sokka's head peered over the railing.

"Sokka. I heard you gotten better." Zuko said.

"What can I say, it's luck."

"Who else is up there with you?" Toph asked.

"He-he-he-he-he-he. That would be me." yet another voice pierced through. And the next head that peered over the railing was none other than…

"General Bumi." they all said in unison.

"Good to see you all again. Come up here. We're having a meeting." he said.

……

"Well, I'm all caught up with the story. And all I've got to say is… you teens today are crazy." Bumi said, followed by his laugh. "But, I support you in this effort of trying to stop the Dai Li."

"So you'll help us out?" Suki asked.

"With what I can." he replied. "As you know, I am retired. I don't have my influence in the government as I used to. So I can only give you certain things."

"Such as?" Toph questioned.

"The location of the Dai Li head general Long Feng."

"Where is he?"

"Ba Sing Sae Island."

"Isn't Long Feng just a figurehead for the Dai Li?" Zuko asked.

"From what I've been told, he more than just a figurehead. And also I can give you a boat."

"A boat?"

"A stealth boat actually. An Ell Hound Type-24, one of the best stealth boats ever."

"Why would we need a stealth boat?" Katara asked.

"There's reason to believe the Dai Li's base of operations is Ba Sing Sae. That being, they would have that entire base locked down so tight-"

"Why would they have it locked down?" Zuko interrupted. "Wouldn't that just create suspicion?"

"I take it you don't know."

"Know what?"

Sokka looked to the floor, "They plan to initiate Project Phoenix tomorrow." Everyone froze.

"What?!" Katara exclaimed.

"At precisely the crack of dawn, the Dai Li will launch their missiles. And the heads of the countries will be wiped out."

"Oh my God." Suki said. They all remained quiet for some time. Zuko was more shocked out of all of them.

"That's why we all have to leave in a little while." Aang explained. "We're going to stop the Dai Li before they can launch the missiles."

"Do you think we have a shot at stopping them?" Toph asked.

"We have to at least try. We can't rely on the government. It's up to us now."

Sokka stood in the center of everyone, "Team Avatar is back."

……

Zuko leaned over the balcony that was outside of the room they had the meeting in. Everyone had left. They were downstairs getting prepared. But he stood there, thinking. These last couple of days had been crazy. Zuko would've never expected that it all was linked to this. Four days ago, he never even heard of the Dai Li. And now he knows that they need to be stopped. What a crazy week this turned out to be.

"Zuko?" a voice came from behind him. He looked back and saw Katara peering over the door.

"Katara."

"We're almost ready." She stepped all the way into the room. "I just came to see if you were alright."

"I'm fine." he looked back over the balcony. Katara walked up to him.

"You're scared, aren't you?"

"Are you?"

"Of course." she laid her hands on the railing, and stared into the moonlight. She looked to see if Zuko was doing the same, but his eyes seemed to be looking elsewhere. "What do you think about the moon."

He smirked, "Water benders just love the moon, don't they?"

"Look at it. I bet if you did, it would make you feel calmer. It does for me."

"For YOU. It doesn't work the same for me. Something else centers fire benders the way the moon centers water benders."

"Like what?"

Zuko didn't answer. And when he did, it wasn't an answer to Katara's question. "Why does the moon center you?"

Katara took into consideration his question, "Because during the time the moon is out, our chi is at its highest. The flow inside our bodies soothes us, and keeps us calm."

"And you feel invincible?"

"Not necessarily."

"That's how we feel. When the sun rises right in the morning, fire benders feel like they can take on anything."

"So that's what it is? The sunset?"

Zuko nodded. "Everyday day of every morning, I watch as the sun rises in the east. I wake up early every morning and head to a spot where I watch it come up."

"Where is that?"

"By the docks, at the edge of a pier. It's the perfect sight. Nothing is in the way of it rising. And when it does, it illuminates me. And gives me the power to make it through the day. It's my little bit of hope." Katara smiled. In some ways they were different, no doubt about that. But they were alike in so many more. He still continues to surprise her. "Maybe we should get back to the others." he said. Zuko got up from the balcony and began walking inside. "You coming, Katara?"

"Zuko, I'm sorry." she said.

He was confused. That came out of nowhere. "What?"

"I'm sorry that I never gave you a chance before. That I was always so quick to judge. It was wrong of me."

"It's alright, I understand."

"If I had known what kind of person you really were-"

"I understand, Katara. It's okay. I forgive you."

"Thank you."

"No. Thank you." There was a moment of silence between the two. Once again, they caught glimpse of each others eyes. Each was lost in the other's. Suddenly, they felt their faces move closer to each other. Neither one knew what was happening, but were going along with it. They moved closer, and closer. Closer.

"NO." Katara said, breaking the moment. "No. I can't." She was really confused. Zuko just stared at her, unsure of what to do. She looked at him, "I'm sorry." Katara left the room. Zuko didn't know what to think. It was like he was hypnotized. Like they were both hypnotized. It felt strange and confusing. What just happened?

-----

Katara walked down the stairs to join up with everybody else. The event that just occurred was still playing through her mind. Did she almost kiss Zuko?

"Katara. We're all set." Suki said. "Is Zuko ready?" Katara wasn't paying attention. She was lost in thought. "Katara?"

Suddenly, she snapped back into reality, "I'm sorry. What?"

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Katara hesitated, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"She's lying." Toph said, coming up from behind the two.

"Katara, what's wrong?" Suki asked.

"It's nothing, really. Just a bit of confusion is all." Katara replied. The two girls stared at her. "I'm going to go find Aang." She left.

"What was that all about?" Suki questioned. But Toph could feel the tension from Katara. She already had an idea of what happened.

"I don't know." Toph lied. She turned to the stairs. "Hey Sparky, you ready yet?!" she yelled.

-----

Zuko heard Toph yelling for him. He'd have to think about what just happened another time. Zuko stuffed his hand in his pocket. He felt something in there. He took it out and revealed his tape recorder. Zuko had forgotten he had taken it before he left his home. He checked the time. 11:59. Almost the next day. Zuko thought it was a good as time as any to leave one last audio log. Then that's when he came up with a plan.

"Zuko!" Toph yelled once more.

"I'll be right there!" he shouted back.

Zuko looked at the time again. 12:00. He pressed the record button.


End file.
